Aura
by Russ Spruce
Summary: Hinata is assasinated, leaving Naruto to care for their newborn with almost no help from anyone. A few years pass and now he must protect his daughter from a threat from the past. Bad at summeries but trust me. Complete!
1. Birth

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

**Aura**

Birth

Naruto sat in the waiting room of the Konoha medical clinic for what seemed like an eternity, desperate to hear any good news. A nurse walked by; the blond quickly called her attention.

"Nurse, nurse! Do know how she's doing?" The nurse's face looked grim as she shook her head.

"It doesn't look good, whoever attacked her really did a number on her." The genin thanked her and returned to his seat, praying with every fiber in his being that she would survive.

The doors on the other side of the room erupted as three figure quickly made their way towards the panicked Naruto. He looked up to see Sakura, Kiba and Shino approaching him, worried looks in all of their eyes.

"Naruto," said the female chunin, hugging her teammate in hopes of comforting him, "everything is going to be alright.

"Ya," second Kiba, his voice shaky, yet confident, of the situation. "She may not be the strongest, but she always pulls through in the end." The blond gave a weak smile, thanking his friend with a nod.

The door on the other side of the lobby opened, the group turned to see one of the head medic-nin walked towards them, a somber look on his face. Naruto quickly stood up and ran to him.

"How is she?! Is she going to make it!?"

"It doesn't look good I'm afraid." Said the medic, his face growing grimmer by the second. "I just have a few questions for you to-"

"Why are you wasting your time here while you should be in there helping her!" Shouted Kiba, pointing to the door.

"Please," said the doctor, raising a hand to calm down the ninja. "Now Naruto, what is your relationship with Miss Hyuga?" Naruto faltered with this question for a moment, not sure how to answer. Luckily, Sakura managed to give an answer for him.

"He's her friend, what does that have to do with any-"

"Are you aware or her condition Naruto?" The genin tried his best not to stammer and managed give an answer.

"…Yes" the medic-nin nodded and wrote down a few notes. The group looked confused.

"Wait, what condition? Is she sick? Is that why she was attacked?" These flurry of questions erupted from the group, throwing Naruto into a deeper state of both panic and worry.

"Miss Hyuga is with child." The room went silent, all three chunin looked at their friend with pure shock.

"W-what did you say?" stuttered Shino, speaking for the first time since entering the room, and with his voice full of shock. The group of nin slowly adverted their gazes from the doctor, the tension so thick you could slice it with a kunai.

"How…how far along is she?" asked Sakura in a weak voice.

"Miss Hyuga is eight months along," said the doctor, showing no remorse for outing Naruto to his fellow ninja. "Now may I assume that you that-"?

"YES!" barked Naruto, his voice full of rage. "I'm the father, now will you please tell me how Hinata is?!?" As the rest of the group recovered from the recent revelation of Naruto and Hinata's relationship, the blond continued his rant.

"Now tell me, HOW. IS. SHE?!" The medic nin finally answered his question, but it was not the answer he wanted.

"Miss Hyuga's condition is critical. Her body is covered with many superficial cuts, but that is not the reason for her severe condition. She has been stabbed in her chest, puncturing a lung and slicing a vital artery." These words echoed through his head, leading him to come up with one grim conclusion.

_She's going to die…_

"What about the baby," interrupted Sakura, still recovering from the large flow of information she had recently taken in. "What will happen to the baby?"

"If the worse should happen to the mother, then we will perform an emergency operation to deliver the child." The doors opened and out emerged a nurse, a panicked look on her face.

"Doctor, her stats are falling, we need your help!" The doctor nodded and went with the nurse to attend to the situation, leaving the four shinobi alone to contemplate the recent series of unfortunate events that has befallen their friend. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Kiba hit Naruto with a sharp uppercut.

"YOU BASTARD! How could you do that to her?!? Were you two together, or was it a one-night-stand!?!" The genin slowly got up from the floor, rubbing the spot on his jaw that the dog ninja hit him.

"…No…yes…I don't know. It all happened so fast. I…I just wanted to help her out in whatever way she needed." Kiba began to calm down as the blond slowly began to explain everything. "When…when she told me, I-I didn't know how to react, I didn't know what to do. At first, I thought we should give the kid up or something. But then I remembered what it was like for me to grow up, without a family, without a home. I promised myself that I would never let that happen to anyone else, especially not even my own child."

The doors opened, the medic-nin emerged from the portal with a sad look in his eyes. All eyes fixed themselves on the doctor walking slowly to Naruto.

"I…I'm sorry." The room became dead silent, as if all sound was sucked right out of the room. Naruto was floored, he felt all energy drain from his body from that single sentence. It was Sakura that was the first to break the hush that had befallen the room.

"W-what about the baby?"

"We're already working on an emergency C-section to deliver the child, a nurse will inform you when the child is born." As the medic nin left for the second time, everyone felt the energy drained out of them. The female shinobi could only imagine what was going through the blonde's mind. So much has happened to him already, the container of a demon, a fighter against the Akatsuki, and now a father at sixteen. _How will he ever become Hokage now?_

As everyone was distracted by the recent change of events, they failed to notice another join their ranks.

"Well, well I wouldn't expect to see you all here." Naruto looked up to see Neji, a disgruntled look on his face as if he went out of his way to do someone a favor.

"N-Neji, what are you doing here?" asked Kiba, his voice still shaky from the current turn of events.

"Lord Hiashi asked me to come here to see how his daughter was doing after birthing that bastard child of hers." Naruto nearly cracked; he knew Neji was never very close to Hinata, but to go so low.

"How can you say that?" shout Sakura, feeling angry at how thickheaded Neji was being. "Is that what you heard was happening to Hinata? And how could you say that about her?" Neji only gave a small smirk.

"When Hiashi found out about Hinata's 'condition', he kicked her out in a heartbeat. The only reason I'm here is to see what half-breed she delivered into this world." The genin wanted to beat the jonin within an inch of his life. As he slowly got up, ready to knock some sense into him, a nurse came into the waiting room.

"Mister Uzumaki, you can come in now." Naruto responded with a nod and began to follow the nurse, but not before clearing up a few things with Neji.

"Neji, Hinata didn't come here to have her baby, she was killed." The genin left the now silent room to see what the doctors wanted with him.

As the medic-nin led him down the hallway, many questions rang through his head. _How am I going to be a father to this kid? I'm still just a kid! What if this kid grows up to hate me? How am I going to get by?_

The nurse led Naruto into the operating room, where so much tragedy has already occurred. He looked around the room calmly until his eyes came across two beings. The first, the body of Hinata Hyuga, her body on the operating table, covered completely by blankets except for her head. The genin walked up to the body and looked at her face. He ran the back of his fingers gently against her paling cheeks, feeling tears well in his eyes. At that moment he heard a crying noise from behind him. The shinobi looked around to find a small crib, the blond made his way to the crib and looked inside. Naruto felt his heart melt instantly. In the crib was the most beautiful child he had ever seen; the child had cream-colored skin and tuffs of his blond hair. As he reached down to pick up the child, he noticed that this child had its mother's lavender eyes, the very eyes he fell in love with.

"Hey," said Naruto to the nurse. "What is it?"

"Oh, it's a girl." Replied the nurse. The genin nodded and looked at the child, his daughter, and then to the mother. He walked over to the corpse and suddenly broke into tears.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you," he sobbed, "I'm so sorry. But I promise you this, I will protect our daughter from anything." Said Naruto, kissing the forehead of his lover "I promise. I will protect our daughter, our Aura."

Wow, that was certainly interesting. As you probably figured out by now, Hinata won't be making an appearance any time soon. I wanted to write a story that was different and show a side of Naruto none of us would imagine seeing. Anyway, leave some feedback and let me know what you think about it.


	2. Stranger

Hey everyone! Wow. Eight reviews in 24 hours and over 300 hits. Most of you guys really enjoyed my work (I think) and someone is planning on my demise. But a flame every once and a while doesn't hurt, but an overflow is just a buzz kill. Anyway, I want to thank **darktank, Demon32835, RasenganFin, nmcrazy, JSai, kreanna211, **and **TGChaos** for reviewing the chapter and also **Cyber-Porygon** for adding my story to his C2. And now onto the next chapter in **Aura**.

Stranger

**Five years later…**

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Naruto's eyes burst open at the shrieking noise that has filled his apartment. He jumped out of bed ad rushed to the sores, panic growing within his heart.

"Aura!" He shouted, nearly breaking down the door of a room to find a little girl, cowering in the corner screaming for dear life. "Aura, What is it? What's wrong?" The blonde girl pointed to a spot in the middle of the floor with a shaking hand. The shinobi looked down, but couldn't see anything. After concentrating on the spot for a few seconds, he spotted a small spider making its way towards the small girl. "Aura, its only a spider, nothing to be afraid of." Said Naruto, picking up the arachnid and throwing it out of an open window.

"Oh…okay…" whispered the little girl, embarrassed about how she reacted earlier.

As you may have guessed, this little girl is Aura Uzumaki. She was just like what she was when she was born, lavender eyes, blond hair, cream skin, and a face that can melt even the coldest of hearts. She grew out her spiky blond hair and wore it in pigtails and her father even notices faint marks on her cheeks, similar to his own. Aura's personality was definitely something she shared with her parents. When meeting someone new, she would be shy and cautious, just like her mother. But once she becomes familiar with the person after a while, she becomes hyperactive and loud as well as hotheaded, just like her father.

Naruto noticed that his daughter felt bad about blowing the whole situation out of proportion; after all it wasn't her fault that she was afraid of spiders. A thought crept into his head.

"But now that I think about it, it could have been a deadly juju spider." Aura looked and her father with confused eyes.

"What's a juju spider?" Naruto slowly walked up to his daughter, a devilish glee in his eyes.

"Why they tickle you of course!" The shinobi picked up the girls and began to tickle her profusely, produce an abundant amount of bubbly laughter.

As few minutes later after all the tickling and laughter had died down, both Uzumaki stomachs growled very loudly. "Hey kiddo, I'll go get dressed and we'll go out and eat breakfast, okay?" Aura's face lit up and she cheered, running out into the hallway to get her shoes on.

"There going to be here any second now, you ready?" Teuchi asked his daughter, heating up the stove for the customers. She smiled and nodded, looking at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost nine o'clock and the Uzumakis were due any minute now. Ayame began to remember how much work and effort Naruto had to do in order to take care of not only himself, but also a child. When she was born, Naruto cut down on everything in order to make time for him to spend time with and raising his daughter. Missions, training, even coming to the Ichiraku Ramen Bar almost disappeared from his schedule since he spent most of his time taking care and raising his daughter. Even through all that he still manages to squeeze in a mission or two and always managed to train, but still spent a majority of his free time with his little girl. But as she became older and began to eat more adult foods, Aura discovered the joys of ramen and now comes to the ramen bar as often as her father when he was younger.

As Ayame continued to reminisce about the past, both Aura and Naruto took a seat and were ready to order. Naruto changed out of his pajamas and slipped into a black shirt and his orange pants while his daughter wore a yellow sundress with a little green toad embroidered near the bottom of the skirt.

"Morning old man!" greeted Naruto with his usual smile.

"Hi pretty lady!" chimed Aura, her cheerful voice bringing a smile to the old man's face. Ayame smiled, she loved how Aura follows in her father's footsteps of coming up with names and still stays true and kind.

"Hello cutie, now what can I get you two?" Naruto thought for a second, not needing a menu since he knew it all by heart.

"I'll have shoyu with kamaboko." Ayame nodded and turned her attention to Aura.

"And what would you like, sunshine?" The blond took a few moments do decide, but came up with an answer.

"Chicken with cinnamon." Teuchi gave a gruff chuckle upon hearing this order, not that it was unusual but on how all the girls orders had that one ingredient. Cinnamon. Most children her age would always have something like ketchup or salt added to their meal, but Aura always added this particular spice to her meal no matter how bizarre it sounded.

The cook finished both bowls and handed the dishes to the famished customers. He couldn't help but chuckle as he saw both father and daughter wolf down their meal in the same manner, as if the two were mirror reflections of each other.

As the ramen cook was about to prepare a second course for the Uzumaki family, he noticed another figure take seat at the bar. Teuchi looked up to see a man, or at least from what he could guess, wearing a very large overcoat and every part of his body, except for a right emerald eye, covered in bandages. Ayame approached the customer with caution, feeling a negative presence emanating from this character.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" The bandaged man looked at her for a moment and replied in a gravely, yet calm voice.

"Yes, I would like soy sauce with teriyaki beef, please." Ayame nodded and had her father cook up the order. As the bandaged man was waiting for his meal, couldn't help but to study his surrounding. He soon set his eye on the little blond girl, finishing up the last of her meal. For some reason, this child seemed somehow familiar, but what truly raised his curiosity were her lavender eyes.

"Oh my, sir?" Said the masked man to Naruto, who was slurping up the last strands of ramen. "Is this girl your little sister?" The shinobi didn't like the sound of that question; he hoped that this guy wasn't some pervert.

"No, she's my daughter." Said the genin somewhat coldly. The stranger seemed to pickup on his unwelcomed presence.

"Oh, join the club." He said, pulling out of his robes a few pictures. The genin at the pictures and saw various shinobi, all ill in their late teens. But he couldn't tell if they looked like the guy, since he was bandaged up and all. "But I must admit, her eyes are absolutely stunning, where did she get them?"

"From her mother," said Naruto calmly, trying his best to be respectful of this strangers prodding questions.

"Ah, I see. Oh miss can I have my order to go?" Ayame nodded while the bandaged figure reached into his robe and pulled out quite a few coins. "I would also like to pay for their meals too." He said, handing the coins to the waitress. The man took his meal and bid the group farewell. As he went off into the other direction, Ayame noticed something odd about one of the coins.

"Hey, what is this?" She said, picking up a single coin. This sparked interest in Naruto.

"Mind if I take a look at it, Ayame?" The waitress tossed the coin to the ninja. Naruto examined the coin closely to see on one side, a snake biting its own tail on the border with a pentagram and a small ruby in the center. The other side showed some symbol that he didn't recognize. "Hey old man, can I borrow this for a while?"

"Sure, hell knows I can't take that as payment. The genin nodded and looked down at her daughter.

"C'mon Aura, we're going to have a visit with Granny Tsunade!" As the words left his mouth, the little girl wiped he mouth clean with the back of her hand, a habit she learned from her father no doubt, grabbed his hand and began to lead him to the Hokage's residence. The employees smiled at the child's antics and waved goodbye, but Naruto was already deep in thought. _Whoever that guy was, he didn't come here looking for good ramen._

That was certainly interesting. Now I'm going to guess that you were expecting something that actually showed Naruto raising Aura and don't start ranting. I'm already finishing up the next chapter and it has a few flashbacks that helps explains a few things. And for the record, I don't hate Hinata, I really support the NaruHina couple, I just felt like trying something different. If you have any questions about where this is going, PM me and I'll try my best to answer without spoiling the story. See you next time.


	3. Confrontation

_AN: Hey everybody! Wow, over 800 hits yet only 4 reviews? Well beggars can't be choosers. I've decided to update even though the next chapter isn't done yet, but still. If anyone has any opinions or suggestions, let me know and I will improve. Also, I would like to thank _**2 u, darktank, RasenganFan, **and **Korhil Tohru** _for reviewing and hope to hear from others. And now with no further delay, here is the next chapter._

Confrontation

We see the Uzumaki's heading towards Tsunade's house; Aura skipping ahead of her father with a smile on her face for seeing one of her favorite people in the world followed by a deep in thought, yet observant Naruto. The genin was contemplating the mysterious character he had met in the ramen bar. That stranger seemed to be all too familiar with the village and his fascination with his daughter not only caused the blonde's blood to boil, but also sent chills down his spine. As the duo walked up to the Hokage's door, Aura could barely contain the feeling of seeing Granny Tsunade, one of the few people that dote on her despite her fathers' wishes. When they reached the door, the genin banded the door with quite a bit of force to get the hokage's attention.

"Hey granny Tsunade, open up. I've got something for ya." The door opened, but instead of the lovable hag that everyone knew stood Sakura.

"Can you be any louder Naruto?" said Sakura, her face showing hints of anger and disgruntlement.

"Hi Miss Sakura!" The medic-nin looked down and saw the cheerful smile of the little girl, instantly replacing her grim look with a bright smile. "Can I play with Tonton?"

"Sure, come right in." Said the pink-haired shinobi, stepping aside to let Aura inside. Once the blond was out of earshot, Sakura turned her attention to Naruto. "So what brings you here?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange coin. "What is that?"

"Beats the hell outta me, some guy from the Ramen Bar left it after he paid for mine and Aura's meal." Sakura looked at him with suspicious eyes.

"Someone **paid** for both of your meals? That's bankruptcy for most people." Joked Sakura, but the genin wasn't as optimistic as she was about the situation.

"It's no joking matter, the guy kept looking at Aura." After hearing this, the medic-nin felt chills go down her spine.

"You…you don't think he's a-"

"No," said Naruto, cutting Sakura off. "I don't think he does anything like that. But he gave me chills when he kept focusing on Aura's eyes."

"Now that doesn't really surprise me, anyone who sees her are instantly drawn into those eyes." Naruto had to agree, everyone who meets Aura immediately comment about her eyes, how mysterious they seem to be.

"Either way I wanna show this to Tsunade, know where she is?"

"Yeah, she's at her office, and yes I'll be glad to look after Aura while you go talk to her." Finished Sakura, answering Naruto before he could ask the question.

"Am I really that predictable?" He asked, his face cracking a goofy smile.

"Only when it comes to children." Smiled Sakura.

"Thanks Sakura, I'll pick her up in an hour." Called the shinobi, running off towards Konoha headquarters.

As the pink-haired shinobi closed the door, she turned her attention to the little girl, who was in the middle of playing patty-cake with Tonton. She couldn't help but laugh at such an adorable sight. It was still hard to believe that Naruto, the Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja of Konoha" managed to raise this child all by himself. Well, at least not without a little help every now and then. She remembered how it was hard it was for her teammate to go at it solo.

**FLASHBACK:**

Sakura walked up the door of Naruto's apartment, a few supplies in hand as a welcome home gift for Aura. She knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. Minutes went bye and no one answered. She grew impatient and decided to let herself in.

"Hey Naruto, I have some…things…for…you…" She couldn't believe what she saw. The entire apartment was a disaster, as if Lee had one of his drunken fist episodes in here. The dirty dishes in the kitchen were stacked up to the ceiling, you could barely see the floor and every article of clothing strewn around had been spat-up on. As she stepped in, she started to hear crying coming from one of the rooms. A second later, Naruto came out of his room. The female shinobi was shocked to see Naruto is such a condition; his hair was disheveled, his clothes were reeking of something unpleasant and the dark circles under her eyes rivaled Gaara's.

"Sakura…wha-what are you doing here?" said the blond, looking very exhausted.

"I-I came here to drop off a few supplies…and…" she didn't know what to say, but the words never the less came out. "Naruto, look at this place! How can you expect to raise a child in a pigsty?!" She realized she hit a nerve when she saw tears begin to well in the genin's eyes.

"I-I…I…I…" he stuttered, trying to reply but was too exhausted to. The pink haired shinobi couldn't help but take pity on him. He's been doing this for two months with no help, no support, nothing. Sakura went over to Naruto and lead him to the bedroom, which was just as much as a disaster as the rest of the place. "Wha-what are you doing…" stammered the blond.

"Your exhausted Naruto, you need to get some sleep!" Said his teammate, leading him to his bed.

"No, wait…what about the…"  
"Don't worry, I'll take care of her. You just sleep." She didn't have to tell him a third time. As soon and his head hit the pillow he was out like a light. _There we go, now to take care of that crying. _Sakura left the room, tripping over a few empty containers of instant ramen in the process, to Aura's room. The shinobi began to mentally prepare herself on how much of a disaster this room was going to be. She opened the door and gasped, unconsciously covering her mouth with her hand. The room was beautiful. Naruto apparently put much effort in making this room peaceful and relaxing with cream-colored walls as the ceiling was painted to resemble a starry night sky. Sakura ignored the rest of the features and turned her attention to the crying infant. She peeked into the crib to see the small baby dressed in a little pink jumper, wailing like the boogieman was going to get her. "Awww, are you scared Aura?" asked the nin, picking up the child and rocking her back and forth. Almost instantly, Aura stopped crying and focused her huge lavender eyes on this new person. A few minutes of rocking later, Sakura finally managed to get her to fall asleep and place her in the crib. As the child drifted off into dreamland, she couldn't help but examine the room. The room showed to have various necessities that babies needed, such as a crib and a diaper table, but also a few extras like a chest with a few stuffed animals and a picture on the bedside table. The medic-nin walked over to the table and picked up the picture to examine it more closely. Inside the daisy flower frame was a picture of Naruto and Hinata; Naruto wearing his usual toothy grin while hugging his arms around Hinata, who was slightly blushing but nevertheless happy. She placed the picture frame down and looked back at the sleeping infant, a smile slowly emerging. _Well now that that's done, time for the hard part._

After Sakura left Aura's room, she began to clean up the apartment. First by washing all the dishes in the kitchen, picking up the living room and washing all the dirty clothes. It took all day and into the wee hours of the night, but she managed to get the job done. As the shinobi was about to leave, she heard the floorboards creek. She turned around to see Naruto walk out of the bedroom, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Did…did you clean this place up?" Asked the blond, looking around the apartment in shock and awe. "Do I live here?" Sakura couldn't help but laugh at his stupid little joke, but she had to get serious for a moment.

"Naruto, do you need any help?"

"Nonono, everything's fine!" Said Naruto, a panicked look on his face. "I can take care of it all by myself." Sakura could tell that he was forcing a smile. "Everything is under-" he was cut off by the growling noise of his stomach, soon followed by the crying of Aura. Sakura gave a sigh.

"Naruto, sit down while I get that." said the pink-haired nin went to put the child to sleep again while the genin sat down on the couch, noting how soft is was now that all the empty cartons were cleaned out. When Sakura came back, she sat down next to him, a look of concern on her face. "Naruto, why won't you let anyone help you?"

"I…I thought that since I was able to take care of myself, I could handle this. Guess I was wrong, huh?" Sakura shook her head.

"No your not. You can do this, you just need a little help every once in a while." So for the remainder of the night, she and Naruto worked out a plan on how to get by.

**END FLASHBACK**

For meals, Naruto and Aura had to eat at a friend's house three times. Three so Naruto still has some independence, but mostly so he doesn't eat everyone out of house and home. For money, Naruto would still go on missions and leave the infant in the care of Tsunade or Sakura. For training, he would always go with someone, preferably Kakashi or Kiba. So while Naruto spars, Akamaru or the nin dogs would be occupying and protecting Aura from any danger. Another way for money is to use his talents to perform odd jobs around the village, not the best idea but something to earn nevertheless.

Sakura's thoughts were pulled back to the present when she felt a tugging at her skirt. She looked down to see a familiar pair of lavender eyes.

"What is it Aura?" The girl pointed to Tonton, pacing back and forth at the door.

"I think Tonton needs to go on a walk." Sakura sighed.

"Okay, we'll also go to the park for a little while. Does that sound okay?" Aura's face lit up with joy, a smile a mile wide bursting from her face. "Now go get your shoes on, okay?" The blond girl nodded and rushed to slip on her shoes. As the trio exited the house, Sakura recalled one particular thing that was left out of the plan, not much of what but more of a who. But the medic-nin pushed the thought out of her head and locked the door. As the three headed down to the park, they failed to realize that someone was keeping an eye on them. A sharingan eye watching their every movement as they head to the park.

Meanwhile, we see Naruto rushing over to Tsunade's office, coin in hand and a few questions about it ready to be asked to the Hokage. He was halfway there when he realized that he wasn't alone. He slowed down to a stop and called out to his pursuers.

"Alright Old man, come out or I'll drag you out myself." Out from the shadows appeared several members of the Hyuga branch family as well as Hiashi Hyuga; the current head of the Hyuga clan, a stern look on his face.

"You look well Uzumaki." Said the jonin in a calm, yet superior voice.

"What is it that you want this time?" said the genin, his eyes as sharp as daggers.

"Only to give one simple request. One that has been denied to me for quite some time." Said the clan leader, not intimidated from the blonde's blood chilling glares. "I wish to see time-"

"No." said Naruto flatly, cutting him off in mid-sentence. This caught Hiashi off guard, but only for a moment.

"May I ask why?"

"You should know." Said Naruto, keeping his guard up just in case he was attacked. "You threw Hinata out."

"She disgraced herself." Defended the jonin, "What she did-"

"But you are her father, you should at least protected her. All you care about is strength and power." Hiashi was slightly taken aback. "Aura is fine without you. I far as I know, we don't need anything from you." And with that, the genin took off, leaving the clan leader to contemplate what he said. One of the branch members approached him.

"Sir, what do we do now? Should we follow him?"

"No. I…I just hope that he is right. I pray that he's right."

_Wow that was certainly a huge chapter that leaves a lot of questions. Who is spying on Sakura and Aura, and what does Hiashi wish for Naruto to be right? What does he know that we don't know? We'll find that out in the next chapter. Please Read & Review!_


	4. Assault

_How is everyone doing. WOW, this chapter is crammed with so much your going to have to read it slowly or else you'll get sick! Anyway, 1400 hits and 9 reviews in two days! This is truly a lot to take in. but anyway I would like to thank_

**burnstar:** hope you get surprised in this chapter

**darktank: **If you thought last chapter was crazy, this one is going to be a madhouse.

**hoyt: **no I wouldn't do that…okay maybe a little

**kreanna211: **It's going to get more interesting in a moment.

**none: **I'm thinking about it, but still not so sure.

**Vld: **you really like my story, and don't worry all your questions are answered in this chapter and I'll mail you the check.

**Anon: **Tonton is Tsunade's pet pig.

_That should be it. Now without further delay, I present to you the next chapter. Remember when you're done, please review. THX!_

Assault

At the park, we see Aura and Sakura; the lavender-eyed girl playing in the sandbox while the green-eyed shinobi watched over her. As she watched the child from afar, Sakura failed to notice another familiar ninja approach her.

"Naruto stuck you with babysitting again, huh?" Sakura looked up to see Tenten, dressed in casual clothing and wearing a smirk on her face.

"Oh, hi Tenten. He did, but I don't mind watching her at all." Responded the medic-nin. "How are things with Neji?" Tenten and Neji have been dating for the past couple of years and married about two years ago.

"Oh fine." Replied the kunoichi, although her voice seemed to carry a heavy note to it.

"By the way, what brings you to this part of the village?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Answered the brunette. Now this response made the shinobi curious, Tenten was always sure.

"Have you been feeling okay lately?"

"Well, now that you mention it," began Tenten, "I've been having a few bouts of insomnia, and for some reason I can't seem to hold certain foods down." An idea crept into Sakura's head, she couldn't help but smirk.

"Tenten, could you be…expecting?" The brunette looked at her with wide eyes, shocked by this suggestion apparently.

"No! …At least, I don't think so." The kunoichi noticed the tone in her voice and felt concern for her friend.

"What, what's wrong?"

"It…it's not that I don't want children, but…" she trailed off, but Sakura understood what message the ninja was conveying.

"But Neji doesn't feel that this is the right time to have children?" Now the medic-nin couldn't help but interfere. "Why is that? I mean, I know things seem a bit hectic now but that shouldn't be a reason."

"It…it's just when Hinata died, he always avoided the idea of children for some reason." Sakura shook her head.

"Well, your going to have to tell him about this sooner or later and it might as well be sooner." Tenten looked at her with confused eyes.

"You have any ideas how?" The medic-nin smiled and nodded.

"This is what you have to do…"

While the two kunoichi discussed the topic at hand, we turn out attention to Aura, who is enjoying herself playing in the sandbox with a few other children. The blond is building a sand village with Nika, a brunette, blue-eyed girl she met a few weeks ago.

"There." Proclaimed the lavender-eyed girl, adding the final details to their sand castle.

"What should we call it?" asked here brown-haired friend.

"How about…Narutopia!" Said Aura, thrusting her fist in the air.

"But Aura," began Nika, "You named the last three towns we made Narutopia, remember?" Aura felt the joy swiftly flow out of her.

"Oh yeah…" she said, recalling the past villages she had made with her friend. She pondered on what to name the village. "Nikaville?" She finally suggested after a few moments.

"Looks more like Flattsville to me!" Both girls turned to see a boy around their age jump into the air and stomped their sand village into oblivion.

"Hey! We were playing here!" shouted the blond, placing her hands on her hips and giving her opponent a death glare just like how Miss Sakura wards off any unwanted suitors, whatever that means.

"Well now we're playing here," replied the intruder, not intimidated by the lavender-eyed girl's attempt to drive him away. "So how about you go and play house somewhere else."

Now any other girl would respond to this by just agreeing and walking away, but Aura wasn't any other girl. She stood her ground and was ready to give this kid exactly what he's asking for. But before she could deliver the punishing blow, some woman called to him and he walked away. The blond gawked as she saw the boy run to this woman and embrace her. She turned to her friend and asked as to what had just occurred.

"Why did he run off like that?"

"He went because his mommy called him." The little girl looked at her brunette friend with confused looks, for this word was completely new and foreign to her.

"What's a mommy?" Asked the blond, curious as to what importance this 'mommy' has.

"A mommy is like a grown up girl that takes care of you and loves you." Smiled Nika, thinking of her own mother fondly while leaving Aura in a state of confusion. For as far back as she could remember, she never really had someone she called 'mommy', but there were plenty of female figures in her life. The blond turned her attention to her chaperone to see her talking to another grown up that reminder her of a bear. She made her way to the duo, overhearing a strange conversation in the process that she did not understand.

"…so now you have to let Neji know that there are some factors that neither he nor you have control over, and this is one of…" Sakura saw the little girl approach her and noticed that she wore a sad and confused expression on her face. "Aura, what's wrong?" The girl looked at the pinked-haired kunoichi, tilting her head slightly as if examining her.

"Are you my mommy?" She asked. Sakura's eyes grew wide in shock.

"W-why do you ask?" She stuttered, trying her best to keep in control of the situation.

"Cause everyone else has a mommy and I have you. Are you my mommy" Now Sakura had faced many dilemmas in the past. The invasion of Konoha, fending off Orochimaru and his Sound Four, even being controlled by a Suna elder while fighting off an army of human puppets; she would do that all again just to avoid answering that question.

"No, your mommy…" she couldn't figure out how to answer the question. Sakura looked over at Tenten in hopes that she might have a solution to the predicament, but the brunette shook her head. "This is something your father should answer." She finally said. The pink-haired shinobi saw a sad look emerge slowly from the child's face, disappointed by the answer. Sakura knew that what she was about to do wasn't going to make Naruto happy, but she had no other choice. "How about you and you friend go get some ice cream, okay?" Said the medic-nin, reaching in her pocket and offering the little girl a few coins.

"Okay…" said Aura, her voice harboring a sad and disappointed tone. As the lavender-eyed girl walked away from the females to her friend with money in hand, Sakura turned to her friend.

"Naruto is going to kill me."

"What, why? Because you gave her money to go and buy ice cream." asked Tenten, forgetting about her own problems at the moment to focus on this new issue at hand.

"No, I mean about the 'mother' issue." The kunoichi looked at her with confusion.

"What do you mean? I thought you told me that Naruto had a picture of Hinata in her room?" Sakura shook her head.

"No, Naruto took that picture out when she was around one." Confusion began to spread across the brunettes face.

"Why did he do that?"

"Hiashi." Tenten understood immediately. Ever since Aura was born, the Hyuga clan leader has been trying to become a part of the child's life, but to no avail. Naruto has always been protective and wanted to make sure that Aura had no negative influences in her life, and Hiashi was definitely seen as a negative influence. But something was a bit odd about this, why would someone kick out their daughter and then later try to befriend their granddaughter. It just didn't make any sense.

As the two ninja contemplated this current situation, they failed to notice someone approaching them. The stranger spoke to them in a gravely, yet calming voice.

"Excuse me, Miss? Is this your pig?" Sakura looked up to see a tall man wearing an overcoat and nearly his entire body wrapped in bandages except for his right eye, holding Tonton.

"Tonton!' shouted the pink-haired kunoichi, reaching out and taking the pet off the strangers hands. "Where did you find him?"

"Over by the dumpster, I noticed the odd clothes on him and figured that he belonged to someone."

"Your not from around here, are you." Commented the brunette, noting the odd wardrobe that the figure was dressed in.

"Oh I'm sorry, how rude of me. My name is Oroub, I'm a representative from Suna, hence my odd fashion sense." Joked the ninja, reaching a bandaged hand out to shake the pink-hairs.

**Tsunade's Office:**

There was a knock at the door, the Hokage looked up from her work for a moment to see who was at the door.

"What is it?" she said, Naruto walked in with his usual smile.  
"Hey Granny Tsunade!" A split second after he finished that sentence he ducked to avoid a ceramic pot about to make contact with his skull.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that!" Shouted the sannin, throwing a small tantrum over the comment.

"Why do you always throw pots at me and not Aura!?" shouted the genin in an equal volume and anger.

"Because she says it with respect and not cockiness. Now what do you want?" said Tsunade, once again taking a seat in her chair. Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out the odd coin from the Ramen Bar. He tossed the coin to the blond who in turn caught it. At first, she looked at it lazily, as if this was a waste of her valuable time, but something happened. Naruto noticed the sudden change in the Hokage's facial expressions; from boredom to fear and shock as her eyes widened and to the genin's surprise, began to well with tears. "Where did you find this…" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I-Uh-"

"WHERE DID YOU FIND IT!?!" shouted the kunoichi, her voice booming with rage.

"S-some guy at the Ramen bar paid with it." Stuttered Naruto, trying his best to relay the message without getting his head ripped off. "The guy creped me out, so I figured the coin might have a few clues-"

"Where's Aura?" interrupted Tsunade once again.

"What does that have anything to do with-"

"WHERE IS SHE?!?" Naruto was now scared for his life, not knowing what this woman would do next.

"S-she's with Sakura." He finally managed to get out. The Hokage immediately went on the intercom and contacted Shizune.

"Shizune, I want all ANBU members out and on alert for Oroub, he'll probably be near Sakura. Do you understand?" The shinobi heard a yes from the receiver and hung up, now turning her attention back to the young father.

"W-what's going on…" he whispered, afraid if the figure in front of him would explode. But she didn't, all she did was whisper.

"Everything will be fine, I promise."

Back at the park, we see Sakura and Tenten discussing issues with Oroub, casually asking him about his purpose here in the leaf village.

"So what brings you here to Konoha?" asked Tenten, not aware of the figures true purpose.

"Oh just the usual, come and report about what is currently going on in Suna. The usual." As the group continued their discussion of the issues at hand, they failed to notice Aura return, a single vanilla scoop in a cone topped with cinnamon in hand. It was only when she tapped on the pink-haired shinobi's shoulder that her presence was noticed. She turned around and smiled at her.

"Hey Aura, is that good?" the lavender-eyed girl nodded and smiled in delight. It was then she noticed the bandaged figure talking to the brunette, how he was wrapped in bandages as if he was a mummy.

"Hi mister mummy man!" said the little girl, waving her free hand and giving Oroub a cheerful smile. But while Aura was optimistic, Sakura felt chills crawl down her spine.

"Aura," she whispered in a soft, yet nervous tone. "Do you know this man?" The child nodded.

"Yeah, he paid for me and daddy's breakfast, that was when daddy found the strange coin…" Sakura no longer was paying attention to the child, but now panicking about what she said. She turned to look at the stranger, who was no longer relaxed but standing up and loomed over them.

"I guess my presence is no longer accepted here." As he finished this sentence, three ANBU members appeared in a puff of smoke, surrounding the bandaged stranger. Tenten and Sakura stood up immediately and stepped away from the group, trying there best to protect the girl.

"Oroub, you are wanted by several villages for several counts of murder, espionage and the practice of forbidden jutsu." Stated one of the masked figures, pulling a kunai knife out of his robes. The crowd of people in the park noticed the presence of the robed nin and had quickly evacuated, leaving only Aura, Sakura, Tenten, Tonton, Oroub and the ANBU squad in the playground.

"It appears I'm loosing my touch." Began Oroub, his voice still calm and polite despite the situation he had found himself in. "I thought it would be at least another half-day before Tsunade figured out that I was here."

"Sir, we ask that you put down your weapons and come with us." Stated the ANBU member again, not taking his eye of the target.  
"Oh, Tsunade wants me alive? That certainly seems unusual. She probably just wants kill me herself. But in anyway, no thank you."

Sakura didn't know what happened next; she could have sworn that she blinked, for the next thing she knew all the ANBU black ops members were on the ground, masks cracked and necks twisted.

"Ohmygod!" Said Sakura, now holding on to Aura to prevent her from being injured by this monstrosity.

"W-what are you?" asked Tenten, feeling chills go down her spine.

"Simple, I am a collector, and I want that child to be the next great addition to my collection." The ninja closed her green eyes and held the lavender-eyed girl tightly to protect her from the attacker. Nothing happened. She slowly opened her eyes to see the reason why Oroub faltered with his attack. She smiled as she saw Rock Lee holding onto the assailant's outreached hand with a death grip.

"Lee!" shouted Sakura, grateful that the Bushy Browed ninja was able to stop the onslaught. The bandaged man broke away from the shinobi's grip jumped into the air, landing in the middle of the playground and stirring up clouds of dust.

"It is not honorable to attack a woman who is protecting a child." Stated Lee, taking a fighting stance against his opponent.

"Ah, the infamous Rock Lee," started Oroub, not in a sarcastic tone but an honored tone. "The great taijutsu master of Konoha! It is honor to meet you." The green clad ninja didn't know how to react to this, but nevertheless stood his ground.

"The same, now I wish that you cease this attack and turn yourself in." The shadowed figure laughed at this request.

"I'm afraid I cannot comply with that request." He said, now taking a fighting stance. "If you wish for me to forfeit my prize, you must defeat me." The shiny-teeth ninja nodded in acceptance to the battle. Both opponents charged at each other at lightening speed, clashing fist against fist. Sakura and Tenten watched in amazement as this enemy not only fended off Lee's attacks, but also match them with great speed and precision. After a few minutes of continuous parries, the two broke apart, each one exhausted.

"It appears…I have…misjudged you…" panted Lee, trying his best to catch his breath quickly. Tenten noticed something was wrong, the green-clad ninja was catching his breath but his opponent looked like he didn't even break a sweat.

"As have I," said Oroub in a calm voice. "Which is why I will honor you even more with this." And with that, the bandaged man reached to the bandages covering his left eye and pulled them down. Once uncovered, he opened his eye to reveal a sharingan eye. Sakura felt the blood drain from her face, horrified by the fact that this monstrosity had in his possession a powerful Kekkei genkai.

"B-but how…" Whispered Lee, hypnotized by the red eye now burning into his own.

"It is of no importance now. But you should be honored, it has been quite some time since I have used this in combat." Said Oroub, his tone now much more serious and bloodthirsty. "No more playing games, it's now time to get serious."

_This is it! The villain has revealed himself and is seeking the life of Aura. So may questions arise in this chapter. Who is Oroub? Why is he hunting down Aura? What is his connection to Tsunade? How will Neji react to Tenten's news? Will Lee survive this battle or end up being dust in the wind. Man, this chapter has everything. Let me know what you think! Read & Review. See ya next time!_


	5. Truth

_AN: It has officially been a week since I have updated and now I will update. Nearly 2200 hits and a whooping 10 reviews in a week! Wow I feel good. Now it may be a bit early, but I am thinking of starting a sequel for this story, set later and featuring some more character, some familiar and other completely new. If you think this is a good idea, drop a PM so I know. Oh and I would like to thank _**luckyanz, Vld, tho-lobo, Kiwi-Kitteh, RasenganFin, mdizzle **_and _**burnstar **_for reviewing my story as well as the C2 communities_** All Stories that ROCK! **_and _**Korrd's Favorite's **_for adding my story to their archive. Hope you enjoy this one and remember to review to keep me happy!_

Truth

Lee stood his ground, trying to figure out how to best take on the situation. _This opponent is a real challenge, and he has in his possession a sharingan eye, a truly powerful weapon in itself. And to make matters worse, there is something about this shinobi that does not feel right. _As the two combatants began to circle each other, Oroub began to talk to the bushy-brow ninja as if they were having a casual conversation.

"You know Lee, you and I are not that much different." The two charged at each other, delivered a number of blows and broke away.

"I do not believe that we have anything in common." Stated Lee, standing his ground.

"Oh, how so?"

"I would never attack a defenseless child." Said the green beast, charging his opponent to deliver a devastating kick. As he was about to make contact, the bandaged nin grabbed his leg and held on.

"Put that aside, we _are_ alike." Lee was stuck, both physically and mentally. He was hypnotized by the red eye that strikes fear and envy in the hearts of so many shinobi. "You were once weak, weren't you. Possessing little talent, all except for one. You took that once strength and increased it greatly, making you a master in that field." Lee was no longer resisting, he was amazed that this stranger had figured out who he was, his entire character and everything, all by just looking into his eyes. Oroub charged and captured the taijutsu master, next tossing him into the air, but he recovered by doing a few flips and landing a fair distance from the enemy. "I want to know how strong you are now, Lee. I want to see what you full potential is." With that said, he reached into his robes and pulled out a few shuriken. "And to do that, I know that you must use that power…" he lifted his arm, his aim directed towards the two kunoichis protecting the lavender-eyed girl. "TO PROTECT THOSE YOU LOVE!" With that, he hurled the spinning metal blades at the defenseless group. Sakura could only close her eyes and hope that the blades would miss their target. Nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see Lee standing in front of her and Tenten, shuriken in hand. She was about to thank hem for saving them from the onslaught, but she noticed that something was wrong. That was when she noticed Lee's skin began to turn red and his body began to glow. The green beast gave a war cry and disappeared, only to reappear behind Oroub.

"Wha?" Said the shocked opponent as Lee punched him in the face, causing a sick cracking noise. Sakura and Tenten watched in amazement and horror as Lee pummeled his foe with lightening blows, each one causing a serious injury. After a minute of continuous beatings, although it seemed like an eternity, the bushy-brow shinobi drove the bandaged mess into the ground, creating a crater in the earth. As the dust cleared, Tenten saw the green clad ninja stammering, trying his best to keep standing.

"Lee!" shouted the brunette, running to her teammate, as he was about to collapse. "You idiot, why did you use all of you chakra in that one attack?"

"Because…it is my duty…as a ninja…to protect those…I care for…" gasped Lee, trying his best to recover from his recent attack. "He had…no right…to attack…you…" As the two teammates walked away, the body of Oroub began to make a gurgling noise followed by the sound of cracking. Both of them looked back and felt the rest of their blood drain from their faces. The bandaged body began to rise, broken bones resetting and repairing themselves as if nothing had happened. Oroub stood up, first straightening out his left arm so the bones were set in place, and then followed by realigning his jaw in his skull.

"Impossible…" Whispered Lee, both shocked and horrified by the sight that he had just witnessed.

"Nothing is impossible Lee." Said Oroub, cracking his neck and taking a few steps forward. "You of all people should know that one can achieve anything if they set their mind to it."

"Then how about you set your mind off defenseless little girls you sick bastard!" Shouted the brunette, the shadowy stranger glared at her, venom in his eyes.

"**_Sleep!_**" he said. The kunoichi suddenly felt tired, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier by the second until she finally fell asleep. Lee managed to catch her before she fell, but this put more strain on his already exhausted body. "Put her to the side, I do not wish to injure her, especially in her condition." He looked up at Oroub, noting that even though he is not like any opponent he has faced before, he still had honor. He placed the unconscious brunette on a bench, far away from danger and directed himself towards the foe.

"There is something I must ask you."

"Oh, what is it?" Asked Oroub, walking slowly towards Lee.

"My attack should have greatly injured you, at most kill you. Why did it not?" From what he could tell, the outline of a smile could be seen underneath the bandages.

"Simple, because I have found my strength as well." He raised his fists to show the ninja what he meant.

Sakura was trying her best to protect Aura from any stray blows from the battle, hoping that Lee would hurry up and finish this fight. She looked up to see how he was doing, but now wished that she didn't. She could only stare in horror as she saw Lee getting brutally beaten by the bandaged opponent. Each hit seemed to send shockwaves throughout his entire system, shaking him to the very core as bone cracked under the immense pressure of each punch. After a couple of devastating blows, the pink-haired kunoichi could tell that Lee was barely standing, barely alive. That was when she noticed the stranger's hands, how they seemed to be thicker and sharp protrusions poking out from his wrapped hands. In fact, it seemed like he barely used any chakra at all, except for the copy wheel eye burning into the green beasts head, and even that seemed to have no effect on his stamina. Finally he stopped the barrage and held the taijutsu master up by his collar, since his legs were twisted in horrible positions. She could hear the words he was whispering in his ear, words that made her feel sick to her stomach.

"As far as I see it, you have come a long way my friend. But nonetheless, you are weak! You are nothing! YOU-ARE-WORTHLESS!" She couldn't believe what he was saying. A minute ago he was praising Lee and the next he's demeaning him!

_Who the hell does he think he is? This guy's insane! _She could do nothing as she saw Oroub slam what was left of the bushy-brow ninja into the ground, creating a crater into the earth.

Once he was done he leered his venomous gaze towards Sakura and Aura. He began to walk slowly towards Sakura and Aura; the green-eyed kunoichi slowly got up and prepared herself for battle. He suddenly stopped and listened to the air. She listened too and could hear the footsteps of ANBU Black Ops steadily getting louder and louder.

"Oh dear, it appears our time together is just about up. What a shame." Said the masked man, reaching to cover up his left eye. "But I'm not going to leave you empty handed. I have a message for you." Sakura inhaled sharply, not letting her guard down in case he decided to attack. "When you see your dear Hokage, tell her that I **will** get my prize. And one I do, I will come after her. Until next time my friend." And with that, he walked away and disappeared into the dust.

ANBU members appeared everywhere, securing the area in case their target were to reappear. She could hear their shouts of what was needed and what was secured.

"Everything over here's clear! We have a woman down, she's unconscious but otherwise fine. Get a medic here quick! This one needs special care, pronto! Miss Sakura…" Sakura jumped at the sound of her name, not sure what to do. "Miss Sakura, are you okay?" She turned to an ANBU member wearing a dog mask and nodded. "We need you to come with us."

Naruto paced back and forth in the fifth's office, worry written all over his face as he prayed for his daughter to be returned to him, completely unharmed.

"Calm down Naruto, the ANBU have just picked up Sakura and Aura and they are both fine." Said Tsunade, trying her best to calm down the panicked father.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! Some psycho is out there hunting my daughter as if she is an animal, and all you can say is calm down!?! You have no idea what I'm going through right now." The hokage was about to respond to that comment when the door of her office opened and in walked Sakura and Aura, both looked shaken but otherwise alright.

"DADDY!" Shouted the little girl, running to her father, arms open for a hug. Naruto embraced his daughter, thankful that she was unharmed. "Daddy, the scary man attacked me and Miss Sakura, but then Bushy man showed up, but bushy man was then beaten by the mummy man." That was when he remembered the strange man from the Ramen bar. He stood up and gave Sakura a true look of anger and malice, he covered his daughter's ears so she wouldn't hear what he was saying.

"Sakura, what the hell were you thinking? I told you something was wrong and you took her out anyway?!" the pink-haired nin was a little taken aback by this, but retaliated with her own statement.

"She is a child, children need to get out and enjoy life, not see it as a scary place."

"YOU DON"T KNOW WHAT SHE NEEDS, YOUR NOT HER MOTHER!" bellowed the blond, his eyes shooting daggers into her.

"THEN WHY DON'T YOU TELL HER ABOUT HER MOTHER!" the room was silent, Naruto didn't know how to respond to her comment, he was shocked that those words came out of her mouth. Sakura seemed to even regret what she said. Tsunade knew that she had to intervene.

"Enough, I want both of you at the meeting we're holding in regards to this crisis." And with that both walked out of the room, followed shortly by the Hokage.

Tsunade had called for a meeting for all available Chunin, Jonin and ANBU to gather so they could discuss the topic at hand. Naruto looked around the room and noticed that nearly all of his friends and fellow shinobi were here, and even to his misfortune, Neji.

"Alright everyone, quiet." Said the Hokage in front of the room. "Get out your Bingo Books, cause now is the time to add in a top entry." All eyes were on her as the lights dimmed and the projector turned on, projecting a picture of a tall man wrapped entirely in bandages except for a single green eye. "This is Oroub, we don't know his real name or the village he defected from, but he is a missing-nin wanted in several villages. He is being charged for several counts of murder, espionage, and assassination of prominent members. "

"I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything Lord Hokage," said one of the genin from the group. "But how is this guy different from the others?"

"Simple, the people he assassinates, all possessed a kekkei genkai." A great hush fell upon the room, not sure what to say or how to respond so they let her continue. "But it doesn't end there. All corpses of his victims are missing a piece of themselves."

"What do you mean?" Interrupted Shikamaru, growing more curious about the situation that was being presented to them. "That this guy takes a piece of his kill like a trophy?" Tsunade shook her head.

"No, according to all the autopsy reports on Oroub's victims, the remains were removed pre-mortem. He does not remove body parts from his victims to collect for trophies, he does so to add to his own body and thus, gain the ability to use that particular kekkei genkai." A flurry of whispers erupted throughout the room. Naruto suddenly understood everything, why his daughter was a target of a psychotic killer. It seemed that everything was against him, whenever he felt his life was beginning to fall into place something comes up that throws it into chaos.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? THIS BASTARD IS AFTER MY DAUGHTER ALL BECAUSE OF A STUPID JUTSU?!?" Shouted the upset father.

"It's more than just 'a stupid justu." Naruto turned around to face Neji, being sly and a twit at the same time. The Byakugan is a powerful jutsu that can give this enemy a huge advantage in battle. And to combine it with others will give him unlimited potential."

"Why the hell is he after Aura and not you then?" Asked the blond through gritted teeth. The Hyuga member pointed to his forehead, noting the curse mark branded upon him.

"This prevents him from obtaining the byakugan from me, even if it is activated and he rips it out of my head. I guess that he figured that he would go for a weaker target." Naruto clenched his jaw, trying his best to keep calm. As the two shinobi settled down, Shino decided to gather more information on the enemy.

"What kekkei genkai does he possess?"

"We are not sure on how many he has since some of the villages refuse to reveal any of that information to us, but from some previous encounters we know that he possesses a sharingan eye, hyoton, shikotsumyaku-"

"No way." Everyone in the room turned to look at a chunin that wore a smart alick look and didn't seem to take the situation as seriously as the rest of the group.

"Excuse me?" Said the kunoichi, shooting daggers from her eyes into the thickheaded shinobi.

"It's impossible for him to possess as many bloodline limit as we estimated. It is possible for him to have at least one, like the sharingan, but for him to have others and to all work, they must all be activated and thus it would use up so much of his chakra that I doubt that he could even wipe his own ass." Everyone that was near him scooted away, preparing themselves in case the hokage went ballistic on him. But she didn't, instead she smiled. She smiled a smile that would cause even the most ruthless of ninja to cringe.

"Well then, I don't suppose you would mind telling the families of the victims that their sons and fathers were killed just for a few laughs?" The room was dead silent, only the sound of the projector humming. "I guess not.

"One last thing before I dismiss all of you. Even though Oroub is in the Bingo book, I want him brought back alive." A flurry of whispers once again broke throughout the group.

"Hey wait a minute, why should we bring him back alive? That would put us in more danger than necessary." Choji spoke this time.

"This is a wanted criminal in several villages, if we can capture him and include all of the villages in his punishment, in can help strengthen some ties that we most desperately need. You have you orders, now go." All of the shinobi in the room vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving only Shizune and Tsunade. The apprentice heard sniffing noises and saw tears slowly welling in her mentor's eyes. She walked over and placed a comforting hand on the hokage's back, trying her best to calm her down.

"Don't worry Tsunade, this won't be like last time."  
"I hope your right, I hope your right."

At the hospital, we see Neji visiting Tenten. As she lied in the bed, he was telling her about the meeting that had just taken place a few moments ago.

"Oh my god, how did Naruto react?"

"How do you think? He went ballistic, all he did was shout at how irresponsible everyone was for not telling him about this Oroub character sooner." Tenten slightly cringed at Neji's cold attitude towards Naruto. It wasn't that he hated the blond, in a way he was hurt by his actions. When he found out that Naruto and Hinata had a relationship, hidden from everyone and that she died, he always acted coldly towards him, but still had great respect for him.

"Well, he's just thinking about his daughter. I mean, how would you react if someone tried to attack your child?" To the kunoichi's surprise, her husband gave a small chuckle.

"That's a ridiculous question." Tenten was hurt but by this, becoming ashamed of herself for the state that she is currently in.  
"Speaking of which, there…something I have to tell you…"  
"What is it?" She didn't know how he would react to the news that he may be a father, but she knew that the sooner the better.

"Neji, I-" The door opened and an ANBU was standing in the portal.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but it's time." The jonin nodded.

"We'll talk about it later, okay?" He kissed his wife's forehead and walked out of the room.

"Okay…" She said, tucking her knees under her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs. "Just be careful."

Outside of the Uzumaki home, Oroub was hiding in a tree, analyzing the situation that fate has presented to him.

_Lets see know, several jonin are surrounding the area outside the apartment as well as inside. Looks like my prize is inside her room, listening to a story from her father._ Thought the bandaged nin, looking through the window to see Naruto sitting on Aura's bed, reading a story to the lavender-eyed girl. _Such a shame too, if I was given a choice, I would go for someone with a bit more experience, add more thrill to the hunt. They think that since I'm going after a little girl that I'm some sort of pervert. I'm not a pervert! Hell, I even killed someone who tried to take advantage of a little girl; I mean sure the girl was a target, but that's not the point. Okay, now lets see how I can get to prize. _He thought for a moment and in came to him. _Aha! I know what to do._

The guards stationed outside, steadily getting impatient due to the fact that nothing was happening. The bushes rustled suddenly, the guards took note of this and prepared themselves for anything that might come their way. Nothing happened. The shinobi relaxed a little, but that was proven to be their most fatal mistake.

The ground below them erupted and vines wrapped around their bodies, trapping them in a wooden cocoon. Inside the building, all of the stationed ninja were trapped as well, but not in bark but in ice. Oroub walked down the frozen hallway, a long bone spike protruding out of his hand. He opened the door and released the projectile, hitting his target in the back. Now all that was left was the little girl, all alone with no one to protect her. He began to move towards her, an outreached hand with sharp bones protruding from the palm. "Do not worry little one, it will all be over in a moment." To his surprise, the blond girl wasn't terrified, but began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"You think you're so smart, but no matter what we'll always have the upper hand." At that moment, he realized that he couldn't move. No matter how much he struggled, he was frozen in place. It was then he heard a door behind him slide open and a male voice speak.

"Well Naruto, I've got to hand it to ya, you know what this guy is after." At that moment he realized what has happened. He was trapped in a shadow bind, and Naruto used his shadow clone jutsu to create the guards around the complex to draw him out. The girl suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by a male that he had met earlier at the Ramen bar.

"Ah, I see, clever." Said Oroub, truly impressed that he had bee caught. "What will do with me now?"

"We'll wait for the others to show up, and when they do we will take you away to the hokage." Oroub couldn't help but chuckle, since it had been awhile since he had seen the kunoichi. "But while we wait, I've got some questions for you." The bandaged man blinked.

"Oh, and what might that be?"

"I wanna know why you do the things you do, why you are hunting my daughter, and what you have to do with Granny Tsunade." Oroub knew that this was only an attempt to buy time, but what could he say, he wanted to have a little fun with these two.

"Okay. Now lets start from the beginning."

_You guys must have thought I would let Oroub get his way? Not yet. Next chapter, we'll learn the twisted past of this psychotic hunter and the reason he does what he does. Now is the time for you to review and I'll see ya soon!_


	6. Origin

_AN: Wow what a day! Ten reviews and nearly 3200 hits! I'm really going strong. I guarantee that this chapter will have every one of you hating me. Why? You'll see. Also I would like to thank the following for reviewing. _**Choclatebandit, hoyt, mdizzle, million bullets, RasenganFin, burnstar, Hagensen, Static44, anymous,** _and _**Kiwi-Kitteh**. _I also what to thank _**burnstar **_again for adding me to his C2 community, The best and longest Naruto epics ever. Now enough of the delay and onto the next chapter. _

Origin

"My true name is Ruku, I originated from Kirigakure, the Land Hidden in the Mist. One might say that my childhood…wasn't a very pleasant one." Naruto and Shikamaru listened to Oroub as he discussed his twisted origin story, bidding his time while trapped within the shadow possession. "As you might know, the graduation exam for Kiriga is what some consider…inhumane.

"I was not very skilled ninja, I didn't have any true skills in ninjutsu, genjutsu or taijutsu. I was a loss cause on so many levels." He chuckled to himself, as if it was a clever little joke. "Oh, I was skilled in medical jutsu. I guess that is how I was able to survive the graduation exam, while I was able to heal myself, everyone else bled out." The shadow manipulator couldn't help but cringe a little at this comment. "But even though I passed, I still felt…inferior, weak, a looser. And what made matters worse was when they paired me up with Hidun, a very unique ninja." He looked at Naruto straight in the eyes, sending chills down the blonde's spine. "He killed his entire class with only one hand."

Naruto's jaw dropped. He knew only one ninja who could perform a jutsu with only one hand.

_Haku?_ He thought, remembering back when he did a mission in the Wave Country and how he and his teammates barely made it out of there alive. The bandaged shinobi noticed the shocked look on his captor's face.

"Do you know of what I speak of?"

"Yeah, unfortunately I do." Responded the shinobi, "I faced someone who used that jutsu. Hyoton, a powerful kekkei genkai that uses water and wind-based chakra to create ice."

"That is correct." Chuckled the collector, a vague outline of a smile seen under the bandages covering his face. "I'm actually surprise that any relatives survived."  
"What?" question Shikamaru, lost by that last comment.

"I'll explain later. Now where were we? …Oh yes, Hidun." All of a sudden, Oroub's calm demeanor seemed to break, anger slowly bubbling to the surface. "He always treated me like I was garbage, a simple tool that can be thrown away!" Shikamaru began to concentrate more on his possession, for he was afraid that his captor would break away from all the pure anger emanating from him. "People do not have the right to feel superior if they are born with great talent and others are born with nothing! Such actions and thoughts will ultimately lead to their downfall." Naruto finally understood who this guy was.

_He's insane! _He thought, letting the information sink in. But as soon as his anger was rising to a boil, it soon went down to a simmer.

"But anyway, Hidan always treated me as if I was simply a toy that one could play with until it broke. But he didn't know that he would regret not needing my help.

"We were both assigned a mission to fend off the land from ninja from Kumogakure, an easy mission for Hidun. But unfortunately, a shinobi who believes he is on par with a kage is bound to make a mistake.

"While he was distracted by killing several cloud nin, he failed to realize that one of them threw a shuriken that not only sliced of his arm, but mine as well. Now I am not sure how you would react if you found out if your limb, but to me, I felt like I was dying. I was in such a frenzy that I failed to notice which arm I picked up on the ground and reattached to my body.

"It was after my arm was reattached that I realized that several of the cloud ninja had finished slaying that arrogant bastard Hidun and focused their brutal onslaught against me. I won't lie, I was terrified. I truly thought that I was going to die. It raised my arm in a vain attempt to defend myself and waited for them to kill me. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes and found my assailants impaled by giant icicles. At first, I thought it was Hidan that did it, but he was already dead so that led me to one conclusion. I had gained the ability to use Hyoton from Hidun's arm.

"I will admit though, it is difficult to use this jutsu since it can take up quite a bit of chakra. But after little practice, I've mastered it." Naruto did not like where this conversation was going; he had to admit that the Hyoton was truly a powerful kekkei genkai and in the wrong hands can cause great damage. "It was then I realized that I get become more powerful, stronger, faster if I were to go out and seek more kekkei genkai to add to my 'collection'. But of course, I had to make sure that Hidun's family wouldn't hunt me down. So I used the Hyoton to assassinate a few key members of the mist village's council with the ice release, making it seem like they were seeking revenge for the death of their son. And it worked." Shikamaru was now completely freaked out, he knew this guy was crazy and he could easily take out both himself and Naruto if he wasn't already trapped. "After that task was completed, I decided to defect from my village and pursue more kekkei genkai to strengthen my overall form and become one of the most powerful shinobi in the world. Of course, there were a few problems along the way.

"Apparently it was harder for me to acquire a kekkei genkai than I originally thought and my first one was a fluke. It should be noted that in order for a transfer of a bloodline limit, that limit must be active when severed from the living body of the person. These were skills that I had not yet refined and needed to sharpen if I were to ever reach my goal. It just happened to be a stroke of luck that I found a great teacher to help teach me the techniques required to achieve what I needed. Of course, she didn't need to know that I was going to use those techniques for that purpose." A thought crept into Naruto's head, a thought he would regret.

"Are you…are you talking about Tsunade?" Asked the genin, not sure if he had asked the right question.

"Ah, you are correct. Your hokage was indeed my mentor before she came back to this village, a few years back I believe. It took me quite some time for me to locate such a prestigious medic-nin, and by the time I found her, I discovered something truly interesting and beneficial on my part." A twisted smile could be seen underneath the bandaged covering his face.

"What did you find?" Asked Shikamaru, curious but also cautious as to what the answer may be.

"When I first met Tsunade, I knew she had already taken an apprentice under her wing, but I never imagined that she had a son." The room went silent. Both leaf shinobi wore identical looks of shock and disbelief, not sure how to react to this piece of information.

"N-no way." Stammered the blond, trying his best to keep his cool. "Granny Tsunade would never have kids, she hates kids!" All Oroub did was laugh.

"This was a long time ago, apparently she and her boyfriend, Dan I believe that was his name, consummated their relationship shortly before his death. She became pregnant with his child and so she ran off with her lover's niece to raise a child who would never know who his father was and what his true potential is.

"I believe he was around seven when I met him. I have managed to convince that woman that I was a poor soul that had lost everything, just like she did, and I wanted to help prevent those tragic events from occurring to anyone else. She accepted me as a blind man accepts a rabid dog into his home, unaware of the danger that would occur.

"Over the months in which she had taught me, I have learned many new techniques in which I can use not only to attach limbs to by body, but also to just transplant the genetic material into my body and preserve it. In a few months, I knew everything I needed, at least that is what I thought, and prepared to leave the complex in the dead of night. It was then I noticed Dani, Tsunade's son, was outside holding a bird's nest that apparently fell over. I was curious with what he would do with it. I was completely thrown off guard when he created a tree that picked up the nest and held in high in the air. That was when I realized it; Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage, the one who created the village of Konoha with his Mokuton. It would make sense that this child possessed such a rare and powerful jutsu. I had to possess it, I knew how and I figured that this would give me practice with my new technique of genetic transfer.

"I walked up to him, commenting him on how skilled he was at such a rare jutsu. He was surprised, probably expecting his mother instead of me. He said he didn't want his mother to know he used that jutsu. I promised not to tell her as long as he did a favor for me. He agreed and I asked him to turn around. When he did what I said, I broke his neck." Naruto gasped; shocked that he would do such a sick and cruel thing to a child that he knew for a few months, that he saw as a companion and not a target. "After that deed was done, I drained the marrow from his bones and added them to my own, thus granting me the abilities to use the Mokuton! But unfortunately for me, mommy dearest heard all the commotion and came outside to see me looming over her precious Dani. She would have killed me right then and there if she didn't notice all the blood. She couldn't move, let alone speak. All I did was walked away and thanked her for the training.

"It was at that point I knew if I wanted to add more bloodline limits to my collection, I had to figure out how to take care of the serious flaw that would grow and grow with every kekkei genkai I added to my arsenal. Chakra. Since all the kekkei genkai would be active they would constantly drain the chakra in my body. It took a little longer than I originally estimated, but I found and answer to my question and moved on." The shadow wielder was not satisfied with this statement; he needed further details on the matter.

"What the hell are you talking about? Explain." Oroub gave a sigh and complied with the blatant request.

"Very well then. There was a clan that possessed a very rare and powerful bloodline limit that were banished from their village due to their destructive nature. It wasn't that they were violent or anything, they just needed to release their chakra or else they would die. Their kekkei genkai was to draw chakra from the environment and use it in; unfortunately there was no 'off button' for this technique. They constantly had to disperse chakra or else it would cumulate through their system and die.

"It was just my luck that I managed to find the last member of that clan and perform the same procedure on him as I did with Dani. With that kekkei genkai in my arsenal, everything came easy. I was soon the king of my domain! All I needed was one last bloodline limit and then I would become complete, the byakugan."

"And that's when you came here." Said Shikamaru, now ready to hand this nut bag over to the ANBU.

"No actually, I originally came here to claim the byakugan five years ago."

"What?" gasped Naruto, trying to comprehend all the information he had just learned.

"Yes, I came here five years ago seeking the bloodline limit, one that can only be obtained through the main branch of the Hyuga clan since the side branch all bare curse marks that prevents me from taking their eyes." Naruto felt his muscles spasm erratically, this all sounded too familiar to him. "When I first came here, I found her immediately, picking flowers in the field." He did not like this, it as if he was reliving a bad dream. "I immediately confronted her, told her who I was and what I wanted. She refused, I expected her to, and so I scuffed her up a little. Not anything serious, just enough to provoke her to activate her jutsu. She still refused and began to call for help. Unfortunately, my anger got the best of me when she began to call for help and I accidentally stabbed her in the chest." The blond felt the blood drain from his face. He began to remember that horrible day five years ago.

_Miss Hyuga's condition is critical. Her body is covered with many superficial cuts, but that is not the reason for her severe condition. She has been stabbed in her chest, puncturing a lung and slicing a vital artery. _His disbelief and sorrow were soon replaced by anger and rage.

"You bastard…" the bandaged figure looked at him with a surprised look. "YOU KILLED HER!" The energy surging through his body was immense, causing both prisoner and warden to feel threatened by this force.

"Calm down, Naruto! We got him! He won't be hurting anyone anymore." Said the shadow wielder, trying to calm the enraged blond down. After a few moments, he calmed down and managed to control his temper. "Alright then, now I have a few questions for you."

"Oh, and what might that be?"

"You mentioned that you thought you learned everything from the old lady, so what else do you need to know from her." The trapped collector gave a small chuckle.

"I need to learn from her the Creation Rebirth, a jutsu that heals all wounds and renews all flesh. Once I learn that jutsu, I will be complete."

"Yeah right. Like that would ever happen." Scoffed Shikamaru.

"Oh anything is possible with a sharingan eye."

"Alright, I'll give you credit for that. Now I have one last question. Why tell us everything."

"Simple, I always let my victims know who I am-"

"Before I die." Shikamaru felt the chills go down his spine, since the voice that finished that sentence came from behind him. Before he knew it, both his shoulders were impaled from behind, causing him to release Oroub from his bind. Naruto saw it coming but couldn't react fast enough to stop him from getting to him and slamming his head repeatedly into the floorboards, knocking him unconscious. When it was all done, the bandaged man turned around and saw a being identical to him. "How are you my dear wood friend?"

"Not too bad, you?"

"Can't complain. It is a good I had you as backup or else I would have these degenerates boring me to death." Oroub looked at Shikamaru, bleeding from both shoulder, to Naruto, unconscious on the floor.

"Did you find out what you needed?" Asked the doppelganger, looking at his creator.

"Yeah, I did." Replied the original, continuing to stare at the blond. "He's more powerful than I imagined," he walked out of the room but turned to his clone. "Do what you need to do." He nodded and proceeded to move the center of the room, making hand signs and chanting an odd spell.

**FOREST OF DEATH HEADQUARTERS**

Neji opened the door to one of the safe rooms, finding Sakura watching over Aura.

"My turn to watch the rug rat." Said the jonin in a rather bored tone, as if he was wasting his time doing remedial work. The kunoichi looked from the Hyuga prodigy to the sweet little girl, coloring in one of her favorite coloring books that her father gave her, and back to him, a look of worry in her eyes. "Don't worry, I won't hurt her." It took a few moments, but she reluctantly nodded and left the room. As the door closed, Neji took a seat and observed the blond as she continued to doodle in her book.

He hated to admit it, but she was adorable. In a way, she reminded him of Hinata and how she was so innocent and caring. While Neji was reminiscing about the past, he failed to notice the little girl get up, walk over and sit in a chair next to his. He came to and looked down at the lavender-eyed girl, who was in turn looking up into his lavender eyes. "Can I help you?"

"Do you know my mommy?" The jonin was slightly taken aback by this question, since he never expected this little girl to ask him.

"Why do you ask?" He replied, trying to take control of the situation.

"Because you have the same eyes as me, and everyone says I have my mommy's eyes, but I don't know who my mommy is." Neji couldn't help but relate to this child since he himself had never known his mother either. He knew Naruto would kill him for what he was about to do, but he also knew that Aura had a right to know who her mother was.

"Aura, I did know who your mommy was." The little girl immediately stopped what she was doing and looked up at the man, all ears for what he was about to say. "Your mommy…she was a very kind person. She would always commit to something and never give up on it." He felt a great warm feeling spread throughout her body as she saw a smile spread across the little girls face. It was at that moment, he made peace with himself.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. Everything was fuzzy and his head hurt like hell. He tried to remember what was going on, but it was difficult to remember. Soon everything came into focus and he saw a strange man dressed up in bandages chanting and making hand signs. It suddenly came back to him, he and Shikamaru had captured Oroub, but somehow he made a clone of himself and had it attack them. The clone suddenly stopped and looked down at the blond.

"Goodbye my friend. Sacrifice: Kamikaze Jutsu!" The blonde's eyes grew wide with fear and shock as the body began to glow with immense light.

Neji stood up, hearing an odd rumbling noise. Aura looked at her sitter with curious eyes.

"What is it?" She asked politely, not sure what was going on.

"Stay here." Replied the jonin, heading out of the room and onto the rooftop. He activated his byakugan to see where the explosion came from. He focused on the area where they all planned the ambushed, the Uzumaki apartment. "No…" The entire building was completely obliterated, flaming debris still falling from the sky. He slightly adverted his gaze and saw to his horror that Oroub was heading straight towards the headquarters. He quickly ran downstairs to the room and closed the door. It was not long after the cries and screams began to erupt from various parts of the buildings. He shoved the little girl to protect her in case he came. He heard footsteps, steadily getting louder and louder as they approached the door. Neji reached into one on his pouches and pulled out a special surprise he had saved for him. The doorknob slowly twisted and the door creaked open, the bandaged assailant standing in the portal.

"Oh, now I didn't expect to see you here?"

"What do you mean by that?" Asked the prodigy, standing his ground and waiting for the time to strike.

"I was just wondering why someone from the side branch would go on and defend someone from the main branch?"

"It's the way of our clan."

"Oh, but she isn't truly a member of the Hyuga, so what is the point of protecting her. She is the child of a weak-hearted person who did not have any inner strength or courage. He deserved to die." Neji could feel the little girl tighten her grip around his waist.

"Your wrong." Said the prodigy with defiance in his voice. "Hinata was not weak. She was strong and protected everyone around her till the very end; even sacrificing her life to ensure her daughter could live. I am not protecting Aura because it is my obligation as a member of the side branch, it is because she is niece, and I will protect her out of love." The mummified man began to clap his hands, but not in celebration but in annoyance.

"Bravo, bravo. I guess the chances of you handing her over to me are slim to none? Well in that case then…I'LL JUST HAVE TO TAKE HER BY FORCE!" He charged the Hyuga member ready to strike, but he was ready. Neji threw several exploding tags that covered the attackers body. "Oh shit."

BOOM! The explosion was so powerful that the floor began to crumble and give way. The jonin held onto the blond tightly as they fell down several floors. He managed to grab onto a rail and pull himself and the child up onto a balcony. As the dust cleared, he looked around and saw that they were in the arena that he fought in during the preliminary matches. He was pulled away from his reminiscing of the past by the screams of Aura, who was pointing at a figure in the middle of the arena. He looked and immediately knew why. The exploding tags didn't do any damage to Oroub, but instead burned away all the bandages on the top portion of his body, revealing a truly horrifying sight. His entire body was apparently stitched together with various skin and color tones, giving him the look of a ruined rag doll, his face was probably the most horrifying sight, for he had no nose and his mouth was just an opening made by various stitches keeping the hole from closing. "Stay here." Said Neji to his niece, jumping down to the arena to face his opponent.

"Did you honestly believe that attack would stop me?" Questioned Oroub, relocating his dislocated shoulder.

"No, I just wanted us to fight in an area that was more suited for our abilities." Neji felt chills go down his spine as the villain smiled with his makeshift mouth.

"Very well then, prepare to fight for there is more than just you life on the line."

_OH-MY-GOD! What an explosive chapter! Oroub's past has finally been revealed and we now know why Tsunade hates his guts so much. Now it comes down to the wire as Neji gets ready to fight Oroub. Will the prodigy prevail, or fall like so many others before him? Keep reading for the next chapter of Aura, "Combat." I guarantee that the next chapter will be action-packed to the max! Read & Review! THX!_


	7. Combat

_AN: A lot of hits, 4400, but barely any reviews? What's up with that? Anyway, I would like to thank _**Static44, million bullets, mdizzle, conlan0414863, burnstar, **_and _**Hagensen**_ for reviewing. Now you guys have been good about reviewing and I know that Fanfic alerts have been a bit screwy lately(at least to me), but I now wish for at least 15 reviews total before up update. Why? Because they make me happy and loved._

_Speaking of which, I have been thinking of doing a prequel to this story centered around Hinata from conception to her untimely demise. If you think this is a good idea, post it up in reviews. Now without further delay, the next chapter!_

Combat

Both combatants took their stances, preparing a stategy to take each other down. Neji was already at work trying to think of a game plan that will take down an opponent that managed to defeat a countless number of bloodline users. He activated his byakugan to examine Oroub's chakra network, but soon wished he hadn't. His entire circulatory system was a hodge-podge of stitched up channels that made him wonder how this 'thing' was capable of surviving for this long. He couldn't wait any longer, he charged his opponent, palms surging with chakra to deliver a blow to Oroub's heart. The rag-doll man saw what the Hyuga prodigy was doing and began to grow bone plates over his chest, but it did not matter, Neji could still see all the chakra points. He struck the chest with a huge burst of energy blasting from his palms, but to his shock the chakra point did not seal. He took a few steps back and examined his target, trying to figure out why his attack did not prevail. To his shock, he saw a small amount of chakra flowing through the rib-like protrusions covering his chest and torso like armor.

_What the hell is going on? That was a direct hit, he should be on the ground coughing up blood._ Oroub laughed as he looked at the jonin's perplexed face.

"What's the matter, can't you hit me?" Neji knew he would be walking into a trap, but he needed time to think of an effective stategy to defeat this madman.

"All right I'll bite, why aren't you hurt?"

"Simple my dear friend," Began the insane enemy as the rest of his upper body began to grow bone plates, giving him the look of a knight with a single red eye burning into Neji's lavender ones. "What I have here is my wind bone armor; the bones that cover my body are hollow, but also strong and flexible. I am fully aware that you can see my chakra network and that you can attack it, but with this armor and using wind chakra I can divert the blast of chakra from your attack and have it flow through my armor. Whenever I feel I need to attack you, all I have to do is direct the chakra from your attack and fire it from my hands, feet, or any other part of my choice." This information was helpful, but it also scared him. A jutsu that renders the gentle fist to nothing but a simple pat and even worse he can direct the chakra he used right back at him. "You look surprised. I'll have you know that I took me three years and a lot of dairy to perfect this technique. I've never had a chance to test it out on anyone, but I guarantee that it will definitely be a challenge one like yourself craves." Neji hated to admit it, but he was right. It has been a while since he was presented with an opponent that actually knows what they are going up against. He took his fighting stance again and got ready to attack, this time ready for the armored assailant to make the first move. But all Oroub did was stand there, arms crossed and staring at him with his sharingan eye as if he was bored. "What's the matter, are you afraid of the boogeyman?" It seemed that Neji had no choice but to attack, charging and sending large amounts of chakra into his palms in hopes that it would break through his defenses. It seemed to have no effect; every hit he landed but the chakra he used never managed to get to the chakra network. All of a sudden, the energy that was flowing into various portions of his body split into various parts of his body and armor. Oroub released a large blast of chakra from his palms, missing the jonin by only a few inches and creating a crater in the arena floor. He thought it was over, but he was wrong. The enemy had somehow stored the remainder of Neji's chakra in his feet and used it to accelerate his speed and deliver a devastating head butt. The prodigy stammered backwards, clutching his throbbing head even though his forehead protector took out most of the blunt force.

"What's wrong Neji, am I that big of a headache to you?" Laughed Oroub, circling his opponent. Neji prepared to have another go, but the assailant continued to laugh. "Do you honestly think that any of your attacks would work against me in this state? The only way that you can break it is if you destroyed it from the inside out, and I highly doubt that you can do that."  
"Oh really, how about me?" Oroub turned around to see several blades heading right towards him and piercing his rib-plates. Neji looked up to see Tenten on the other side of the arena, several kunai in hand.

"Tenten, what are you doing here?!" Shouted the husband, both happy to see her well and scared that she had put her life in danger by getting involved.

"Forget that, look!" She pointed to the blades that hit the chest plate of the enemy; each handle had an exploding tag on it ready to blow.

"Damn." Said Oroub just as the tags went off.  
BOOM! Smoke and bone fragments flew everywhere. It was at that point Neji realized that his wife's attack had delivered a serious blow to the armor, giving him an opportunity to attack. He charged the enemy and landed deadly hits to heart and liver, causing immense pain on Oroub's part. He fell down on all fours, coughing up blood through his facemask. Once Neji thought his opponent was down for the count, he turned his attention back to the brunette.

"Tenten, I'm glad you're here but this place isn't safe right now. Get Aura and leave now!" The kunoichi looked at her husband with worried eyes.

"But Neji-"

"I suggest…you take…his advice…" Both shinobi looked down to see Oroub slowly getting up, fire burning in his eyes. He raised his hand and vines burst out of the ground, wrapping around the Hyuga member and rooting him in place. Tenten tried to rush to her husband's aid, but she was caught by Oroub who was slowly choking the life out of her. "I told you not to get involved. I gave you a chance that many before you would have taken in a heartbeat, and yet you spit on my kindness and for that you will pay!" He began to tighten his grip over her throat, causing her to feel faint and dizzy. "You are truly a selfish whore aren't you? Did you forget that by being here your are not only risking one life but two!"

"What are you talking about?" Oroub stopped; loosening his grip and turning his sight from Tenten to Neji then back to Tenten, an evil gleam in his burning red eye.

"You haven't told him?" He asked in a sly voice.

"Told me what?!" Shouted the jonin, now panicking, afraid that his opponent had done something to his wife.

"Oh nothing, just that your wife is pregnant with your child." The room was silent, the prodigy's lavender-eyes wide with shock, not sure how to react to this information, especially coming from an enemy.

"What, h-how did you know?" Stammered Tenten, surprised by how he somehow knew about her condition.

"Simple, this." He said, pointing to his sharingan eye. "My eye shows everything with great clarity and accuracy, even seeing the slightest curves of your stomach." She didn't know what to say, she couldn't say anything. He finally released his grip around her throat and turned his attention to Neji. "There is a good thing about you wife carrying a child from the esteemed Hyuga clan. If I kill the kid just like I killed the mother, I can come back and get your kid's eyes." Both leaf ninja looked at him with wide eyes, shocked that such words came out of a twisted mouth, but also what he said about Aura's mother.

"Did…did you say you killed Aura's mother?" Said the jonin, trying his best to keep calm of the situation.

"By accident; the bitch started calling out for help and she really began pissing me off so I stabbed her. And if I happen to go into another blinding rage and kill the girl, I'll just take your wife, have her birth your child, kill her, raise the child and when it's bloodline limit develops, I'll take and kill the child." Neji couldn't take it anymore, his rage and anger got the best of him and he broke free from his wooden confines and charged his palms full of chakra, delivering devastating blows to the enemy. After a few serious hits, Oroub's anger began to boil. "ALL RIGHT THAT'S IT!" Sharp, jagged bones erupted from his forearms and hardened bone over his knuckles, literally making his arms into devastating weapons of destructions. He parried all of Neji's attacks and landed his own attacks on the prodigy, each blow with destructive force. The enemy was ready to end it and tried to knock the jonin out with a punch to the head, but he leaned back to avoid a serious hit to the face, but unfortunately could not avoid the serrated bones along the forearm. The blade made contact and ripped open Neji's eye socket, spilling blood everywhere and tearing out his left eye, the byakugan still active. He immediately stopped the onslaught and turned is attention to the dislodged eyeball. "Oh my, oh my, oh my, my, my." He said, reaching down to the lavender eye. "By this act of generosity my friend, you may have saved this child's life." As he was about to pick it up, a surge of energy went through his fingers and the eye. He flinched and pulled back and watched in horror as the eye shriveled and turned to dust. Tenten looked up from the floor to see the heavily stitched figure of their enemy shaking with rage. He slowly stood up and walked to Neji, lying on the floor of the arena and bleeding from the left eye socket. "You know, for a brief moment, I thought I was done. No more searching, no more waiting, no more work. But do you know what? YOU SCREWED IT UP!" He kicked the hurt Hyuga in the ribcage with great force, cracking a few ribs and causing Neji to cough up blood. "DO YOU KNOW WHY I'M PISSED? HM? BE-CAUSE-OF-THAT-CURSE-SEAL!" With each shouted syllable, Oroub kicked him in the ribs, further creating immense pain and suffering. "I first came here so I can be challenged. So, WHERE IS THE CHALLENGE?"

"Right here." The stitched man looked up and to his horror saw the hokage herself charging right at him, ready to strike.

"Ah shit." Tsunade thrusted her foot into the air and made contact with Oroub's chest plate, sending him flying through the wall of the arena and outside of the building entirely. Tenten looked up to see Sakura picking up Aura just as the balcony was about to collapse due to the lack of support from the wall. She got up and rushed to her husband, the sannin healing the serious injuries that Oroub had inflicted upon him.

"Stop, Stop." She shouted, waving her arms to get the kunoichi's attention. "Save your strength for him. I can heal my husband." The hokage nodded and turned her attention to her apprentice.

"Sakura, follow me but keep you distance." She nodded and both medic-nin proceeded outside to confront the threat.

Oroub slowly got up and out of the crater, slightly limping and rubbing shoulder.

_Damn, I knew that she was strong but I didn't know that she could use so much power is that one blow. _He looked up to see her coming down ready to crush him in another crater. He managed to jump out of the way just before the crushing blow was delivered.

Sakura managed to get to the rooftop of the building before all of the commotion began, holding onto the little girl who in turn was clinging to her for dear life.

"M-miss Sakura?" Stuttered the lavender-eyed girl, tears streaming from her eyes.

"What is it sweetie?" She asked, trying her best to keep the little girl calm.

"Where's my daddy?" Sakura didn't know what to say, she knew that the Uzumaki apartment was completely decimated but they never found Naruto or Shikamaru.

"He's coming." She lied, but she knew hope was going to be a force needed in this dire moment.

As the two souls began to pray for hope, Tsunade was busy thinking of a strategy.

_I know I can take this bastard down and he knows it, but I still have to be careful, who knows what tricks he may have up his sleeve._

_She really is going to kill me!_ Thought Oroub as he was keeping his distance from the kunoichi. _I have to figure out a way to hurt her seriously enough so that she has to perform creation rebirth, but she's more powerful than I even imagined. She could kill me with just her pinky alone! Hold on, I could use 'that', but I have to wear her down or else she'll break out of it before the jutsu is complete. I'll have to wear her out or else I'm as good as dead._

"What's the matter old girl, afraid?" The hokage chuckled a little, trying to keep calm.

"You should be talking rag doll, you look like you're about to pass out!"

"Not yet, but while we're on the subject, when I killed Dani, did you hug his dead body or did you assistant do it for you?" That was the last straw, whatever restraint Tsunade had left completely disappeared at that moment. She blindly charged him, chakra surging through her entire body in hope that she could land a blow on her opponent, for one is all he would need to kill him. To her shock and surprise, despite his stitched together body and seemingly jerky movements, he was very flexible and managed to dodge every single of her attacks. He even managed to get behind her and land a power kick on the back of her head, not knocking her out but still giving her one hell of a headache. She turned around and managed to grab hold of his leg, twisting it as if it were a twig. He screamed in pain, but that wasn't the end of it. She lifted his entire body up and hurled it into the ground, creating another massive crater, and began beating down on his chest will all her strength and might. Oroub had managed to grow a thick-boned chest plate in hope that that would be able to protect him from each of the sannin's destructive blows. But he was wrong. The armor was cracking under the immense power of her punches, he knew that he had only seconds before one of her hit will end his life.

_I have to…use that…jutsu or else…I'm done for…! _Tsunade raised her fists in the air, ready to deliver the final and devastating blow.

"IT"S OVER!" She cried, hurling her fists down with great speed.

"Mommy?' she stopped, her fists hovering inches above Oroub's heart. She looked up to see a small boy with silver hair and hazel eyes looking at her, tears slowly welling.

"Dani…?" she whispered, forgetting about her opponent and walking towards this child. In the distance Sakura looked on in confusion, wondering why Tsunade was running to this child, that was when she heard her call out to him. "Dani! My precious baby boy!" She opened her eyes wide with shock, she knew this was a trick.

"Tsunade, stop, it's a trap! That boys not you son!" Shouted the pink-haired nin, but to no avail. The blond continued her pace to which she began to quicken her pace. She reached the child and embraced him, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Oh my god, baby, I missed you so much!" the silver-haired child wrapped his arms around the hokage, embracing her with an equal amount of care that this woman was showing the boy. She never wanted to let go, but she wanted to see his face again so he released her grip from him only to find out that she was stuck. As the stitched foe pulled himself out of the crater, resetting the bones in his arm, he called out to the hokage.

"What's the matter Tsunade, I thought you were close to your loved ones?" Before her eyes, the child that she thought she had lost long ago suddenly transformed into vines, twisting and wrapping around her body. She struggled to free herself from her wooden prison, but used most of her chakra from her previous attacks on Oroub. She looked up at her foe, a look of anger, but also sorrow.

"What did you do?"

"I knew your weakness and I manipulated it. But if you think that's the end of that, then I'm afraid your wrong. Here comes the fun part.." he raised his left hand and opened it, as if reaching for something while his right hand performed a number of hand signs. All around the bound sannin, small ice needles started to form. "Now get ready, Iron Maiden: Torture!" He clenched his fist and the needles pierced her flesh, causing her to scream and writhe in agony. He began to circle the injured kunoichi, a look of triumph gleaming in his eyes. "Do you like it? I call it Iron maiden, a powerful jutsu that utilizes two powerful kekkei genkai. Now this unique jutsu is used specifically for interrogation and information gathering, but for you, it is to cause pain and suffering." He said, pushing down on one of the needles and causing even more pain to the sannin. "But of course it won't kill the person…at first. That is why I used this jutsu on you, to keep you alive until I get my prize and then allowing you to perform your creation rebirth, and with my sharingan eye I can copy it and assimilate all the kekkei genkai into my body permanently."

Sakura gasped, holding onto the little girl even tighter, nearly choking the life out of her. As the monster turned his attention from Tsunade to Aura, all she could do was hope that a miracle could happen.

"Someone, please help." Oroub looked at her and began to laugh.

"No one is going to help you now, all you can prey for is a quick and painless death." Out of nowhere, a kunai knife landed right in front of him, halting his progress.

"What's wrong, is the big bad Oroub afraid of a little metal?" everyone looked up to see Naruto, sitting in the tree and in perfect health with the exceptions of a few scrapes and a few singed clothes.

"DADDY!" shouted Aura, tears of joy streaming from her eyes.

"What the…how the hell did you escape my jutsu!" demanded Oroub, anger burning in his eyes.

"A ninja never reveals his secrets." Replied the genin, jumping down and focusing energy in his right palm to form the Rasingan. "Right now, your going down!"

_It is now set, he has defeated the Hyuga Prodigy, he had trapped the Hokage, now he faces an opponent he never wanted to face, Naruto. These two will battle it out as this powerful epic draws down to a close. I know that this chapter isn't as long as the other ones but I promise the next chapter will definitely be longer. Don't worry, I'll include an epilogue chapter to wrap things up and as mentioned above, instead of doing a sequel I can do a prequel. If you think this is a good idea, post it in reviews. Read & Review!_


	8. Defeat

_AN: Wow, a lot of reviews and over 6,000 hits! I would like to thank _**LenKun, anonymous, Hagensen, mdizzle, GarraXHinatalove9003, RinTori, burnstar, Jayfairchild, Cheese Maiden, million bullets, sorry, RagingDragon04, maxamus crime, Anonymous, Julia, Kiwi-Kitteh, Anna,**_ and finally _**bakagaijin.**_ Now I apologize for the long wait, (homework has been a drag) now without further delay, the next chapter._

Defeat

The two opponents began to circle one another, both staring into each other's eyes not breaking. Both opponents knew each other's power, strengths, and limit…or so they thought. While the two continued their deadly dance, Tsunade could only watch, unable to move due to the Iron Maiden jutsu that was keeping her pinned in the ground and slowly draining the blood out of her body. Sakura and Aura were still on the roof, watching as the brave and enraged genin was facing down an opponent that's power can probably rival Orochimaru's own. Aura clung to the mother figure as she watched her father fight a monster that has already hurt so many of her loved ones already.

"I'm still curious as to how you survived my kamikaze clone jutsu, you should be nothing but dust in the wind. I must know, how did you do it?" Naruto gave a smirk, knowing that this would give him a chance to throw his opponent off guard. It was then he remembered that Aura was present, and he didn't want her to know who her father _truly _was. He turned his head to look at Sakura, who in turn nodded and covered the little girl's eyes."

"What's going on?" asked Aura, trying to squirm out of the pink-haired nin's grip. "I wanna see daddy fight the bad man."

"I'm sorry sweetie, but he's going to do things he doesn't want you to see, at least not yet." Once he saw that her eyes were covered, he turned to face his opponent with burning red eyes.

"So, you want to know how I survived that attack? I'll show you!" His body was soon engulfed in a blazing orange aura that seemed to sway and move, as if it was alive and had a mind of its own. Despite this horrible and haunting sight, Oroub didn't seem to be that shocked or surprised. In fact, he seemed to have a pleased look in his eyes and gave his opponent a disfigured smile. "What's the matter, you afraid?"

"Oh no on the contrary." He replied, his muscles spasming as if someone was shocking him. "I'm ecstatic! It has been a long time since I have fought anyone whom had displayed as much power as you. I have chills." His body did some sort of spasm and he suddenly became very serious. "Let me show you my power." Before his eyes, the stitched-together man's skin began to darken and crack, immense heat and steam pouring out. All of a sudden the top of his skull erupted in flames, now giving him the distinct look of skeleton whose body is now covered in burning flesh. "Do you like it? It is called Pyroton, a powerful kekkei genkai that utilizes fire and…" he stopped himself in mid-sentence, a smirk once again appearing on his face. "Well, I'll just leave that little tidbit of information a surprise, don't you think?" Naruto stood his ground and gave a smirk of his own.

"Why not, I love surprises."

At one both foes charged each other with blinding speed and power, stirring up clouds of dust and miniature tornadoes. In the middle of this chaos, Oroub and Naruto were in fierce combat, throwing punches and delivering kicks with enough power to kill someone. Fortunately, Naruto's speed and awareness helped him dodge nearly every attack, but was in time that he realized that he was beginning to heat up.

_Man what is up with this heat, I feel like I'm being cooked like a lobster!_ It was then he realized that even though his chakra shield can allow him not to get injured by any of his enemy's punches, he still was unable to control the heat that was quickly sinking into his shield and slowly roasting him alive. _Okay Naruto, think, think, think! I got it! If I keep my distance and use the chakra shield to attack him from afar I can defeat him. _This seemed like the safest plan and had the greatest chance of success. He broke away from his enemy and jumped into the air, to his surprise, his foe did not follow him but instead closed his eyes and drove his fists into the ground. _What is he up to? _Thought the blond as he descended to the earth. As he approached the ground, his chakra tail ever so gently grazed the ground.

BOOM! The area of earth suddenly erupted with an upheaval of molten rock and fire. Naruto saw this violent reaction and knew that he had to get back in the air and fast. He quickly touched base and jumped back into the air, just in time before the magma burst forth from the surface. He managed to extend his chakra shield to grab hold of a branch, but even the tree was engulfed by flames. He just barely managed to grab hold of the roof of the building and fortunately this one didn't explode on him. As he pulled himself up, he heard Oroub laughing maniacally.

"I see that you are enjoying my eruption jutsu. It is truly a powerful attack that utilizes fire and earth based jutsu to precisely target an enemy through the vibrations they make on the ground. In laments terms, wherever you go, I can and will attack you!" The blond stood his ground, thinking of a way to break his opponent's concentration on the jutsu. That was when it came to him. He lowered his chakra levels so the chakra shield was no longer active and focused all of his energy into the chakra into his next attack.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Several dozen copies of the shinobi appeared in mid-air as they rapidly descended to the ground. As each one touched the ground, they were immediately engulfed in a massive uproar of fire and soot and immediately disappearing in a puff of smoke.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Naruto drove his foot into the back of Oroub's head, driving it deep into the earth. Immediately the eruptions ceased and the blond could once again able to touch solid ground. As the opponent pulled his head out of the ground he looked up at the orange clad ninja with a shocked look on his face.

"How did you…?" He stopped, realizing the attack he used just before he was hit. "I remember now. You used your clone like a stepping-stone, giving you the momentum you needed to break my concentration on my attack. A lucky move, but luck can only get you so FAR!" The ground around him suddenly erupted with fire and smoke, giving him the look of a possessed demonic figure.

Naruto watched in horror as the outline of the hunter slowly began to warp into a more horrifying form. The flames soon died down, revealing a new monster. Bone armor covered his entire body, extending his arms and legs and even giving him a tail with a sharp bone pike at the end. His head reminded Naruto of a demon, horns erupting from the back of his skull and his jaw was now extended outward, full of razor-sharp fangs ready to rend the flesh off whatever they could bite onto. The only thing that was the same was the sharingan eye, and even that itself was seen as demonic. "**_Are you scared…no? You will be."_**

Meanwhile, back in the arena we see Tenten comforting her husband, healing his wounds and wrapping the damaged eye socket. Neji slowly came to, noticing that his vision was slightly lopsided. He tilted his head to see his wife, a look of panic and desperation on her face, her eyes red from crying.

"Ten…ten…?" Se whispered, his voice hoarse and raspy. She immediately stopped what she was doing and held her lover close.

"NEJI! Oh thank god your alright, I thought I lost you!" Sobbed the kunoichi into the prodigy's shoulder.

"How…are you…and…the baby…?" She instantly tensed up, nervous as to what Neji would say but also not realizing that she put pressure on some very sore areas on his body. He gave a slight moan and she immediately released her grip on him. "Ohmygosh! I'm so sorry Neji, I didn't mean to-"

"Tenten," he cut her off in mid-sentence, trying his best say what he needed. "It's okay…you don't have to worry about anything… I…just want to…know why you didn't…tell me."

"I…I didn't know how you would react. Ever since Hinata died, you seemed to despise the idea of children." The room was silent, both of them unsure what to say until Tenten once again broke down into tears. Neji reached up and slightly touched her cheek to calm her down.

"I would never despise my child, I just was afraid that if anything bad happened I wouldn't be there for you." She leaned closer and held him close, giving him the signal that he had done the right thing.

"I love you Neji." He held her.

"I love you too."

Back outside, Naruto was having a difficult time dealing with Oroub's latest transformation. All he could do was run and avoid the devastating blows that would definitely kill him.

"**_What's the mater kid, I though you liked a challenge?" _**Mocked the demon as he hurled a fallen branch at Naruto who in turn jumped out of the way just in time.

_Damn it _thought the blond and he landed on all fours. _If I don't figure out this guys weakness out and fast, I'm dead and so is Aura and Sakura. _He quickly made a few hand signs and performed the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, creating several hundred clones.

"Ha, try and defend yourself now!" Shouted the copies as they began to charge. Oroub did not treat the onslaught as a threat, all he did was cross his forearms in front of him as if defending himself. Suddenly vines burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around each clone followed by the formation of ice needles. Sakura recognized the attack as the Iron Maiden, but it was different. The icicles were longer, thicker, sharper and deadlier than the one used on Tsunade. The demon reached out his right hand open and called out his attack.

"IRON MAIDEN: MASS EXECUTION!" The icicles impaled the clones, producing a thick fog as each one disappeared in a puff of smoke. Oroub began to scour the clouded area, knowing that even though the attack was successful, he did not entangle his intended target and eliminate him. The smoke suddenly dispersed as Naruto and a clone charged at him at full speed, great ball spiraling sphere charged and ready to crush him with the intense force. They made contact with his chest, blasting bone and wood fragments into the air. Oroub was hurled into the air, landing hard onto the ground and gasping for air. The clone dissipated as Naruto walked towards his downed opponent, a triumphant smile on his face.

"I will admit this, when I first saw you I knew it was going to be a challenge. But I knew that I would win, do you know why?" Asked the genin, knelling so Oroub could hear him better. "It's because I love my daughter, and I will never let anyone harm her." To his surprise, the downed opponent began to laugh in between gasps.

"You…are a funny…ninja. …Do you know…why? Because you failed to notice…the bubble." Naruto looked at him with a confused look and looked up to see a bubble floating right above him. He quickly reached into his pouch and pulled out a kunai knife, thinking the bubble might swallow him and affixiate him. He thrusted the kunai blade into the bubble and pooped it, but instead if it disappearing, it became shards of ice that went into every direction and impaling Naruto in his arms, shoulder and legs.

As Naruto fell to the ground, slightly writhing in pain from the unexpected attack, Oroub began to get up slowly, the bone plates on his chest regenerating and an evil gleam in his eye. "You really think you are smarter than me? Sure for the most part it is dumb luck but when it comes down to it, I am the stronger one." He leaned close to Naruto as he tried to pull the ice fragments out of his body. "At first, I was going to just take the eye and leave, but after this treatment I feel that this requires more of a punishment. I will break every bone in your body, then I'm going to kill that pink-haired bitch that has given me quite a headache." He said, pointing a bony finger at Sakura. "And then I'm going to rip your daughter's eye out of her socket. Once that is done, I'm going to kill her right in front of you the same way I killed her mother five years ago."

That was the breaking point. Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore; he let his anger and the fox's chakra surge through his body, causing him to go directly into his four-tailed state. Oroub, Sakura and Tsunade gasped in horror as the possessed nin began to charge up for an attack.

_Damn it, I didn't mean for him to go this far! If he launches that attack, he could not only kill me but the kid as well. _Thought Oroub, etching symbols into his palms. He charged Naruto just as he was about to release his attack. "Demon Seal Absorbsion!" He thrusted his palms into the chest of the mini-fox demon and released a pulse of chakra. Both combatants were engulfed in the dust, preventing Sakura from seeing what was going on. All she could do was pray that Naruto managed to follow through in the attack and burned out a good portion of the fox's chakra in the process.

As the dust began to clear, Sakura gave a sigh of relief as she saw her teammate emerge from the dust, slightly scraped up but in otherwise good condition. He had a triumphant smile on his face as he wave to his daughter who was now seeing her father for the first time since the battle started. Aura waved back, but soon stopped as she noticed something else emerge from the dust. Naruto heard an odd growling noise, sending shivers down his spine. He slowly turned around to see Oroub, who had not only survived the attack, but also looked even more demonic than before. He looked on in horror as his opponent began to grow bone spikes along his entire body and his jaw further extended outward, giving him the distinctive of a demonic troll. When the transformation ended, Naruto, Sakura, Tsunade and Aura stared in horror and shock at this monster that somehow seemed to glow red with chakra. That was when Naruto realized what had happened; his attack didn't follow through, Oroub absorbed a large portion of the demon's chakra and thus transformed.

"**_What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"_** chuckled the chakra-powered demon, a look of hunger in his eyes. Naruto could feel it, the feeling that he felt all those years ago. The feeling that he was truly going to die, and he can't do a thing about it.

But even though he knew he was dead, the blond wanted Sakura and his daughter to escape so he had to buy them some time. He knew this guy had an ego that was as big as Hokage mountain, so he decided to use that.

"Alright what's the deal?" shouted the genin, trying to sound panicked and desperate to lull his enemy into a false sense of security. "How did you absorb all of my chakra?" Oroub began to laugh and showed the leaf nin his palms, they were symbols carved into them that seemed to be glowing.

"**_You are such a fool, don't you remember the secondary ability of the Mokuton; the ability to control tailed-beasts."_** Naruto could do nothing but stand there, his mind beginning to go numb from this piece of information that he completely looked over, **_"And as a bonus, by combining that kekkei genkai with my absorption jutsu, I was able to seal off the demon in you while at the same time gain more chakra than I could ever have imagined!"_** Sakura put her hand to her mouth, afraid that the worse will now happen.

Without any warning, Oroub kicked Naruto straight into the air with deadly force and blinding speed. Just as the genin was beginning to descend, the demon appeared before him and kicked him into the earth. Oroub landed and plucked Naruto from the ground and began to slam him repeatedly into the ground, each hit causing a sickening cracking sound. Oroub finally lifted the broken ninja above his head, ready to finish him off when some one shouted out.  
"STOOOOOOOOOOOP!" The cry echoed throughout the forest, silencing everything. "LEAVE MY DADDY ALONE!" Sakura looked down at the little girl she was watching and gasped. Aura's eyes were burning with pure anger and fighting spirit, but also the vein on her temples were pulsating and here pupils were now visible. Aura had activated her Byakugan.

Oroub immediately dropped the battered Naruto to the ground, his sharingan eye fixated with the burning lavender eyes of the little girl. He began to approach them, hypnotized by them and wanting the power for himself. Sakura quickly jumped down and pulled out a kunai knife, ready to sacrifice herself if it meant that Aura would be safe. The demon looked at her and laughed, knowing that her bravery was only a front and that deep down she wanted to run away.

"**_Do you honestly think that you can defeat me, let alone hurt me?"_** She knew he was right, but she had to try to reason with this brute or at least lull him into a false sense of security.

"Please, think of what you're doing." Pleaded the pink-haired nin, trying to convince him to see the error of his ways. "You have more power than anyone can imagine, why gain more when you can use what you have to benefit society than hurt it. You do not have to be like this." To her surprise, Sakura saw tears streaming from the sharingan eye.

"**_Y-you're right, I'm a monster!" _**Sobbed the demon, dropping to his knees and crying. Sakura was shocked by this sudden change of emotion and views, she didn't know what to say. She put away her kunai knife and slowly walked towards the sobbing Oroub.

"Does-does this mean you'll stop?" Asked Sakura, a small glimmer of hope in her voice.

"**_No."_** He batted Sakura to the side, slamming her into a tree and knocking her out. Once that was done, he set his sights on Aura with a hungry gleam in his eyes. He jumped and landed onto the roof, shaking the structure with great force. The bone-plates on his body began to recede back into his body, although they were a powerful weapon in combat in strength and power, they sacrificed dexterity, which he needed to remove the eye without damaging it. "Come here little one." Said Oroub, his armor fully retracted and revealing his horribly stitched-together body. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Aura didn't move from her spot; not that she wasn't petrified by the encroaching doom, but she didn't move because she couldn't figure out how to go. Her newly acquired ability has completely disoriented her, preventing her from knowing which direction she was facing and which way to go. It was Oroub was only a few feet away that she began to focus on him. He had many scars and stitches across his body, but when she focused harder, she saw channels circulating through his body with a glowing blue light. She focused even harder and the channels disappeared, replaced by certain sections of his body becoming illuminated by many brilliant and different colors. She looked to the side and saw Tsunade, who oddly enough wasn't glowing many colors, but only one. The blond looked back at Oroub as he was now within reach of his target. That was when she noticed there was one particular color in his body that kept pulsing with energy. She didn't know where the idea came from, but something in the back of her head told her that this particular 'color' was important.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Oroub grabbed her shoulder, his free hand sporting a sharp bone-blade and a wicked smile on his face.

"Now my collection is complete." He slowly directed the blade towards the child's eye, ready to tear it out. Aura didn't want this enemy who had already harmed so many of her loved ones already, so she did what all children her age did, she hit him.

"NO!" she shouted, punching Oroub in the pulsating force with an open palm and forcing chakra into it. Oroub immediately took a few steps back, observing his body and looking at the little girl.

_I know she made contact and she definitely used chakra, _thought the demon. _But this is probably the first time she had activated her kekkei genkai, she couldn't have possibly mastered it enough to hurt…_ his mind drifted off in mid-sentence as he felt a sinking feeling building up in his body. His vision began to blur and he felt every inch of his body burn as if engulfed by the hellfire. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew that his body was tearing itself apart from the inside out. He screamed in agony as he fell to the ground and writhed in pain.

Sakura slowly got up from the ground, clutching her broken left arm. She heard a scream coming from the distance, immediately thinking it was Aura; she rushed over to the source with blinding speed. She stopped when she found the source of the cries of agony. Oroub was on the ground, tearing out pieces of his own body. She looked down to see a sharingan eye roll in front of her. The pink-haired shinobi heard a rustling noise come from behind her, she turned around to see the branches trapping the hokage begin to recede back into the earth. She hurried to her mentor, a confused look on her face.

"Lord Hokage, what's going on?" Tsunade looked at the being, a force that has caused so much pain and suffering, was now in pain and suffering. Both looked up to see the child, her eyes pulsating with the byakugan.

END

_No not really, I will write an epilogue that will wrap everything up and explain a few things, especially Aura's new ability. You know the drill, READ AND REVIEW!_


	9. Epilogue

Hey guys! Yay finally I have finished this story. School for me has gotten really difficult so I haven't had much time to finish it. But now I have finished thanks to a lot of nagging. Well enough of the blabber, here's the story.

**Epilogue:**

Six months later…

"Happy Birthday Aura!" Shouted the crowd surrounding the little girl in a snow white dress and a large marble cake with vanilla icing and sprinkled with cinnamon. The party was held in Naruto's new home that replaced the apartment complex that was destroyed a few months ago. Everyone was there to celebrate the annual event. Sakura, Tsunade, Shikamaru, Lee, Tenten, who was now seven months pregnant, even Neji.

While the guests were busy doting on Aura, her father and a few other ninja broke away from the group to discuss a few matters at hand.

"First, I want to say congratulations for finally becoming a Chunin." Said Kakashi, patting his former student on the back.

"Thanks," replied Naruto, finally giving a smirk in what seemed like a long time. "It's been a while since I felt this happy."

"And for good reasons too." Added Shikamaru, knowing exactly what the blond and his daughter went through. This comment also had Naruto recall the horrid events that have occurred and how so many questions were formed that day. He pulled his sensei aside for a moment and began his discussion with him on the matters that were in his head

"That reminds me, what ever happened to Oroub?" Kakashi gave a heavy sigh and began to tell the tale.

"As you know, Oroub stole numerous kekkei genkai from various clans. Each one of those juts us' relied on an enormous amount of chakra, more than what he could supply; to solve this dilemma, he used another kekkei genkai that pulled chakra from around him to fuel his jutsus." Naruto nodded, remembering the monologue he gave him and Shikamaru right before he blew up.

"When Aura spiked Oroub in the chest, she did more than cause him to suffer a bad case of heartburn…she shut of his jutsu."

The blond looked at the gray-haired jonin, confused and surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"From what we can tell from the outcome of Oroub's encounter with Aura, we have determined that she not only has the Byakugan, but something stronger."

"What do you mean?"

"She can see more than just the chakra network in a person, but a step higher; from what the Hokage and other Jonin have determined, Aura is capable of seeing a person's unique chakra energy and even powerful kekkei genkai. Even more fascinating is that she has the ability to shut off or even force out chakra energy and permanent jutus."

The Chunin was silent for a moment, processing what his former teacher said.

"S-so…" stuttered Naruto, not sure how to ask his next question. "What about me?"

"From what Tsunade and the senior ninja can determine, Aura can potentially use her jutsu to force the nine-tail fox out of your body, killing you." This statement sent chills down the blonde's neck.

"Wh-what of Oroub, what happened to him?" Kakashi let out a deep sigh.

"When Aura shut down his chakra gathering jutsu, his body started to deteriorate at an alarming rate. His condition progressed so fast that we had to have medic nin transfer chakra just to keep him alive.

"Tsunade called for representatives from all of the villages where Oroub stole the kekkei genkai to determine a proper punishment for him."

"And what did they come up with?" Asked Naruto, bracing himself for what his teacher would say.

"They all decided to take back what is theirs." The blond gave a confused look to the gray-haired ninja, not sure of what me ment.

"What do you mean by 'take back what is theirs"? Kakashi gave the chunin a stern look.

"Exactly what it sounds like. Each of the parts that had the kekkei genkai were removed from his body." Naruto gave a silent gasp, shocked by the cruel punishment that Tsunade agreed on. He didn't know how, but he began to imagine several medic-nin slowly and painfully removing the sharingan eye from his disfigured face. "The decision was just, Naruto." Said Kakashi, sensing his former pupil's dreary feelings. "The jutsus had to be removed or else he wouldn't be able to function or stand up to what his true punishment was." Naruto looked at Kakashi with wide eyes.

"What do you mean?"  
"After all of the parts were removed, he was nothing but a torso with a partial face and no jaw. The village hidden amongst the waves took what was left of him back and made a promise to make sure he lives for a long time to come, a proper punishment for someone like him." Naruto smiled, he knew the punishment seemed a little cruel, but it was fair in Oroub's case.

The party continued from that point with no further interruptions as everyone enjoyed the downtime from their regular lives and caught up with each others and hear about what was new in everyone's lives. Finally it was time for the birthday cake. Sakura lit six candles and helped Aura up to blow them out.

"Okay Honey, now close your eyes and make a wish!" The pale-eyed girl nodded and closed her eyes tight and thought deeply about what she wanted. Finally she came up with a wish and blew out the candles. Everyone cheered and began to give gifts to the small girl. Kiba and Shino gave Aura a set of flower barrettes, Akamaru gave her one of his favorite bones, Lee's gift was a set of training lightweights, Neji and Tenten gave a beautiful cherry blossom hanfu and Sakura gave a leather-bound book with various pictures since the day she was born of her and her family. As the party finally ended and Naruto and Sakura were busy cleaning up, Aura came up and began talking to her father.

"Hey daddy?" She asked in a quiet and innocent tone.

"Yes sweetie?" Replied Naruto and he picked up an empty can of soda.

"Do you what to know what I wished for?" The blue-eyed nin decided to play along.

"Sure," he said smiling. "What did you ask for?"

"I wanna know who my mommy is?"

All the good feelings that Naruto has gained throughout the day were sucked right out of him as he heard those words. His smile quickly replaced with a blank frown. Sakura stopped what see was doing and looked at the motionless chunin, his eyes full of panic. It was at that moment that he placed the garbage on the ground, walked over to his daughter, picked her up, sat down and placed her in his lap. The pink-haired nin looked on, not sure of what her teammate was going to do. He took a deep breath to relax himself and began to speak.

"Aura…I wasn't looking forward to the day that you would ask that question, to be honest I was wishing that you would never ask at all. But its not because I didn't love mommy, I loved her very much. It's that when Daddy thinks about her, he gets really sad…and begins to miss her…" Sakura knew that this conversation did not involve her, so she quickly gathered what garbage was around her and began to walk away and give Naruto the space he needed to tell what was needed to be said. "Aura, I know it was wrong for me not to tell you about your mother, but I'll tell you whatever you want to know." It was then that Aura gave her father that smile that can melt even the coldest of hearts.

"What was she like?" She asked.

"Well, where shall we begin…?"

**THE END**

That's it, I'm done. After several months of writer's block and also lack of inspiration I have finally finished it…the first one in awhile too. So yeah now I'm done for now but planning a sequel for this one that will feature an older Aura and continue with upbeat action along with romance and the occasional fluff…even though I despise fluff. Anyway this is it, Read and Review! Cya later.


	10. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

Hello again! I am glad to say that I am back and already working hard on creating a new story that will be a sequel to this one that will take place a few years from where the story ends and begins just as Aura graduates from the academy but doesn't have a squad leader yet. It will feature Aura finding a new ally and also a new enemy, one that's power is far more terrifying than Oroub's ever was. Also to note, the pairing for the next story will not be Naruto and Hinata. What will it be? Add me to Author alert and get ready to experience the thrill of this exciting tale in the next saga, **Aura: Shinobi**Hope you enjoy not only this story, but the next.


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